Elizabeth The Golden Age (2007)
Directed by Shekhar Kapur
Written by William Nicholson. Michael Hirst
Starring Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Rhys Ifans, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton
Release Date October 12th, 2007
Published October 11th, 2007
It's been less than a decade since Cate Blanchett burst upon the scene in Elizabeth. Up till then; a working actress in England, 1998 saw Cate Blanchett get the role of a lifetime playing the virgin queen Elizabeth, one of the most revered figures in English history. Now Ms. Blanchett returns to the role that earned her an Oscar nomination. Elizabeth: The Golden Age falls well short of the dramatic heights scaled by the original. However, Ms. Blanchett is as regal and beautiful as ever and finds just the right grace and style to keep The Golden Age from tipping over into utter melodramatic disaster.
Picking up less than a decade from where Elizabeth left off, Elizabeth The Golden Age finds Queen Elizabeth presiding over a divided country. Christians and protestants are at odds all over Europe and in Spain King Philip (Jordi Molla) is leading the christian cause with his Spanish Inquisition. In England, the struggle of Christians is epitomized by Queen Elizabeth's rival, Mary Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton), who English Christians have claimed as their true queen.
While trying to avoid a holy war of a religious division as well as actual war with Spain, Queen Elizabeth is looking into the idea of marriage as a diplomatic tool. She finds few of any of England's allies to be a suitable match. However, there is an Englishman who has caught her eye. His name is Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen).
Freshly returned from America, where he established the colony of Virginia in honor of England's virgin queen, Raleigh begins a flirtatious dance with the queen as well as with the queen's closet friend Annette (Susan Lynch). With war against Spain imminent and Mary Queen of Scots scheming in secret with potential assassins, the last thing the queen needs is romantic drama. Can Elizabeth balance her personal life with the duties of royalty and protecting England? Historians are likely snickering at such a question.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age plays fast and loose with history in order to craft a daytime soap opera of epic proportion. The grand guignol drama of Elizabeth is often worthy of the catty likes of Dynasty or Melrose Place. Just watch the hissy fit that Blanchett's Elizabeth is forced to play upon learning of Raleigh and Annette's affair. Heather Locklear on her best day could not have done better. That Ms. Blanchett is only momentarily set back by such lame histrionics is a true testament to her talent.
Director Shekar Kapur's true talent is opulent settings and grand costuming. Elizabeth: The Golden Age will no doubt compete for Oscars in set design and costume for the lavish colorful creations of Kapur and production designer Guy Dyas and costumer Alexandra Byrne. The lush beauty of Elizabeth The Golden Age and Cate Blanchett's ability to act and perform the work of a wonderful clothes horse, nearly make Elizabeth The Golden Age worthy of a recommendation. Nearly.
Playing from a soap opera level narrative; Cate Blanchett pulls off an exceptional performance. Her Elizabeth is quick witted, cunning and brave with vulnerability that is very disarming. She is as strong in ostentatious costume as she is in battle armor preparing to lead her soldiers into battle. It's stunning how powerful Blanchett is in overcoming what is a truly underwhelming script.
Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush also fight their way through the histrionics of Elizabeth: The Golden Age to varying success. Owen does spark with Blanchett in their few romantic scenes. In fact they spark so well that it's impossible to believe that Owen's Sir Walter would go for Susan Lynch's winsome girl Annette over Blanchett's blazing, womanly Elizabeth. As things play out, the only reason we see Owen with Lynch is because history recalls Elizabeth as the virgin queen.
As for Geoffrey Rush, the script truly lets him down. As Elizabeth's long time consigliere he is forced by this narrative to be blind and foolish until he is not. There is a subplot with his brother that is supposed to explain his foolish behavior but it's botched so badly that Rush's character is left adrift. Rush is far too good an actor to play a character made to look this silly.
There is the potential for yet another Elizabeth movie if rumors are true. The virgin queen did live for many years past the end of The Golden Age. Fans of Shakespeare In Love will recall that an elder Elizabeth, played in Oscar winning glory by Dame Judi Dench, presided over the era of Shakespeare's England. I'm not at all opposed to seeing Cate Blanchett reprise this role as even in this supremely flawed film she is an electric performer.
Here's hoping another Elizabeth can be more than merely an opulent example of how beautiful Cate Blanchett is in very expensive costumes.
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