ELIZABETH, is, of course, about Elizabeth the 1st, "The Virgin Queen." It stars Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth, Geoffrey Rush as Walsingham, Christopher Eccleston as the Duke of Norfolk, and Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. It IS a period piece, so do not expect what you would from a modern-placed movie. It IS, however, trying to start a new genre the makers term "historical Thriller."
It starts with written words telling of the horrible was "Bloody Mary" was treating her subjects, and how the Catholic Church was trying desperately to keep a Protestant off of the Throne of England in the event of her death. The person they most feared was......you guessed it, ELIZABETH!
We see the burning (very graphic) of
Protestants, the ugly (ugh...she WAS, where did they get her?) Mary doing
everything she can to stay alive---and all she can to convert cousin ELIZABETH
to catholicism....then she dies. ELIZABETH, of course, comes to the
throne---but wait!!! Everyone is against her....everyone, that is, except
Walsingham and Robert. (not called Dudley till 3/4 of the way through the
film). I will not tell you how it ends......well, I will. ELIZABETH overcomes
her advisaries, and decides she hates men and never sees Robert alone again.
So..........was it good history, a good film, or
what? Well, yes, it was a very good film......but very questionable history. I
took my daughter......and while I understood it all (yea, with a Master's
degree and my background in history), she had a harder time following some of
the assumptions. And that was the problem........too many assumptions.
The makers ASSUMED you knew the background of the story........they ASSUMED you
knew a little about ENGLAND at the time of the story. Yet, this was supposed to
be a THRILLER--whereby a person could walk in with no prior knowledge and be
caught up in it. Well, with this film, you almost had to know the story going
in. Let me give you a few examples:
1. You are NOT
told that Robert was the EARL OF LEICESTER till 3/4 of the way in. This was at
the same time as you found out his name was DUDLEY. Now, while this didn't
detract from the romance side, it would have been nice to know (if you were a
Dudley). I had to lean over and tell my daughter (who asked) that, yes, that
was OUR Robert.
2. You are told once (about Robert)
"yes, he is a traitor, like his father before him." "Huh?" my daughter asked.
That necessitated in me telling her the story of John, Duke of Northumberland
and the Lady Jane affair.....which she luckily remembered.
3. The Protestants are in charge at the end, but we are not
told completely why. ELIZABETH's famous ACT OF UNIFORMITY is only alluded to,
and her address to the Bishops--while good--was not sufficiently reinforced as
to the reason she got away with it.
4. Robert is
made to look like a romantic fool.........gone is the man that helped the
Netherlands and got their undying respect---gone is the political genius who
worked his way from "son of a traitor" to Queens Favorite.......in this movie
Walsingham pulls all the political strings. Granted--he WAS invaluable to her,
BUT SO WAS ROBERT.
We are also told at the end that, after she gives up
on men and "transforms" herself into THE VIRGIN QUEEN, she never sees Robert
alone again. I would guess that the writer FORGETS that Robert is named "Queens
Favorite" AFTER all the house cleaning was done!!! In addition, we are told
that her reign was one of the best, with the people calling her "Good Queen
Bess." This is TRUE, but after all we saw, we walk out wondering why!! Well,
you can't tell everything in 2 1/2 hrs!! (YEP, 2 1/2)
The film LOOKS superb. The acting is excellent!
(Joseph Fiennes looks SO much like Cary Elwes of "Lady Jane" that they COULD be
brothers......except that Robert actually had a beard at this time) The plot,
though shaky, was understandable.
The film is
VIOLENT--however, my daughter told me that she believed that the graphicness of
it was NECESSARY. I agree. This WAS the time.
Ok, Ok, as a MOTION PICTURE is was quite good.
In fact, I see Oscar's for: Best Costuming (a given!), and best supporting
actor to Geoffrey Rush. Maybe even a Best Actress to Cate Blanchett.
Here is the bottom line on a scale of 1 to 5 "D"'s (for Dudley, of
course!)
SETS AND APPEARANCE: D D D D D
ACTING: D D D D D
HISTORICAL ACCURACY: D D
PLOT: D D D D
So go see
it!......................OR:
Think you may want the MOVIE?
Buy the MOVIE Today!
Rev Gary
| Front Page |
Email Me |