- directed by Shekhar Kapur
The sequel to 1998's Elizabeth, ...The Golden Age is an imaginative exploration into the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh amidst the turmoil leading up to the famed confrontation with the Spanish Armada.
This isn't a history book, nor is it meant to be a history lesson. Films like this often have that attack launched against them. If you walk into the cinema seeking historical accuracy, you're a moron. :P This film, the history it's based on, is told in very broad strokes. So it's a breezy affair. It's quite lite in that regard. But that doesn't mean there isn't some depth to be found here. In certain respects this is a very rich film, a rich experience.
The pageantry of the film as a whole, and others like it, was one of the main draws for me. I'm a sucker for exquisite and extravagant art direction and costume design, which is something this film has in spades. You could get lost in the film on that level alone, you could just watch it; just experience its richness. The work on that plane is a true artistic achievement and it leaves me in awe. If you've an eye for the architectural and design you really owe it to yourself to watch this film for that reason alone.
The casting is quite perfect as well. Samantha Morton as Mary, Queen of Scots!? You gotta be kidding me. How perfect is that? Clive Owen has a real rakish flair as Sir Walter Raleigh... maybe verging on the annoying? But not quite, since I've always been a fan of his. ;) And of course I'd be remiss for not mentioning the amazing Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham. But the main attraction is Cate Blanchett in the title role of Elizabeth I. She's so commanding and powerful in her performance and yet, at times, also frail and vulnerable. It's quite something to see her at work. And while the melodramatic is often used as a negative, it's with films like these that I don't see why that's the case... if anything, I see it as a compliment. The melodrama on display is so compelling that I can't imagine it would be perceived as a detraction.
Lastly, I've always been fascinated with the world in which this story unfolds. The idea of monarchies and the social attitudes of the time. The dynamics between court officials and their subordinates. Political power plays, intrigue, espionage and diplomacy. It's a real complex network of interpersonal relationships set within a field that is the quintessence of the impersonal. Again, there is the idea of masks that I always find intriguing. And Queen Elizabeth I exemplifies that extraordinarily well. Although, I don't presume to know her. But the image of her is what I'm speaking to... and that I also find fascinating... this historical lens. We've nothing of the person, only the idea of what that person was. But that image... she's one of those historical figures I've never been able to shake. I fell in love with her the moment I learned of her. There's a lot going on there, a lot to dig through. The idea of a woman of that time, in that role, with that power, and what that all means. Pondering the effects of what that social duty means to the fulfillment of the self. This idea of restraint and sacrifice for something greater than you are. In some respects, living the life an ascetic. Privacy and solitude. Isolation. The farce of social graces. The hidden. I don't know... there's just so much there, in the image of this person that feels so... I don't know...
9/10 My score might seem a bit high given the general reception this film has garnered from critics, but this is supposed to be my review. :P I mainly base the score of these reviews on their replay value, their rewatchability. I'd own this film and I could easily see watching it over and over again. Goes without saying, if period films aren't your bag... avoid this movie at all costs. ;)
DS333, in tune.
* Spoilers *
For me, this film is littered with amazing scenes, but the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots has to be among the very best. Incredible! :D
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