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Shekhar Kapur faced two challenges. He needed to craft a worthy sequel to his well-received and critically acclaimed film Elizabeth (1998), and he had to work with larger-than-life characters that lived during a well-known period in Western history.
The reign of English Queen Elizabeth I was glorious. During her 44-year term as queen regnant, Britain rose to military supremacy in Europe; Shakespeare, Spenser, Bacon and Johnson took the literary world by storm; Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe, and Sir Walter Raleigh established the first colony in the New World. This was an era of excitement and achievement in Britain, where anything seemed possible.
So why is ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE so flat and unfocused?
This film is a costume drama, and there’s plenty of both. But it strays so far from history that we are left wondering if Kapur is smarter than a 5th grader. He plays fast and loose with the historical timeline. He turns Walter Raleigh into the hero of the age—a rakish seafarer who seems to turn the tide of the seminal battle with the Spanish Armada single-handedly. Raleigh, a wealthy landowner who spent most of his life with his feet on dry land, was not present at the actual battle.
Sir Francis Drake commanded the ships in the channel, but he is unnamed in this film. Drake’s story is so compelling in itself; why ignore it to inject some revisionist history that’s more appropriate to a Disney film? |
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The cream in this movie does rise. Cate Blanchett plays the brilliant and witty Elizabeth, and her portrayal in both this film and its predecessor will set the standard for Good Queen Bess for many years to come. She is by turns imperious and confused, tired and manic, gentle and nasty. Kapur wants us to see that as she ages, she cannot reconcile herself as queen to herself as woman, and that she is friendless and sad, staggering under the weight of her responsibilities. Blanchett’s performance is very good, and we ache for her as she blesses the babies of peasants and nobles alike while knowing that she herself will remain childless.
Geoffrey Rush returns as Sir Francis Walsingham. He is Elizabeth’s court heavy, master of espionage and intrigue. He is not as sinister in this performance as in the flagship film, but he shows a cruel streak that rivals the Spanish inquisitors that he despises. True to history, Elizabeth relies on his sometimes unwelcome council and trusts his judgment throughout her reign.
But Elizabeth has found a new courtier and counsel: the charming Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). His stories of the New World excite her, and she envies his ability to adventure. Owen’s performance is all over the map. He seems uncomfortable throughout most of the film, and not just with the convoluted period costumes. His romance with the lovely young Bess Throckmorton (Abbi Cornish) feels passionless. His loyalty to the Queen and the Church of England seems frantic rather than heartfelt, and we do not learn why. In reality, the Raleigh family was persecuted by pro-Catholic factions in England. His best scenes are those in which he and Blanchett are alone, but his dialog is so stilted and para-Shakespearean that even then we cannot quite take him seriously.
There are some high points to this film. The costumes are just amazing, as you might expect. The Armada battle scenes are so compelling and exciting you might have to remind yourself to breathe. Although the soundtrack is predictable and a bit distracting in places, the period music played in the English court is beautiful. And the performance by Samantha Morton as Mary, Queen of Scots, is outstanding. Morton understands the frustration of the long-imprisoned Mary, and her desperation to prove herself a true Queen. Her anger seethes just below her regal façade—her true emotions are reflected in the faces of her ladies-in-waiting. This is a visually beautiful film, and the set designers have taken pains to balance the heavy stone architecture of the age with delicate decoration. The colors are vibrant, the fabrics lush, and the candlelight imbues everything with a golden light—a golden light for a golden age.
I enjoyed Shekhar Kapur’s ELIZABETH (1998) so much, and unfortunately this sequel disappointed. The symbolism is heavy handed—as the Spanish lose their Armada, King Phillip blows out a candle in his storm-darkened room—and the cinematic devices are juvenile at times. You can’t help but notice that the only clear mirror in the kingdom belongs to Elizabeth; her cousin Mary Queen of Scots can only see herself in a cloudy looking-glass. |
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But if you are not looking for a history lesson, if you’re not looking for subtlety, if you are willing to accept a Queen Elizabeth who is quick with a one-line zinger but slow to pick up on court intrigues, you might enjoy the film. My recommendation: wait for ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE to be released for home-viewing and brush up on your history in the meantime. |
