Summary: Elizabeth: The Golden Age finds Queen Elizabeth facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Cate Blanchett gave a daring performance in a masterful study of raw power. She desired Raleigh for herself, of course, although there is no evidence that, in life, she had such feelings for him. There are scenes where the costumes are so sumptuous, the sets so vast, the music so insistent, that we lose sight of the humans behind the dazzle of the production. When Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett) offers this bit of advice to a nervous royal suitor, he smiles obligingly but admits he just can't manage the pretense, not being as strong, independent-minded, or self-absorbed as she is. The texture of the film is enough to recommend it, even apart from the story. But saddled with this dopey script, [Blanchett] is stuck pulling a series of poses and wearing one ornate gown after another. de Shekhar Kapur. Movies; Review; Share. We believe she is a queen. "Elizabeth, the Golden Age" is weighed down by its splendor. Cate Blanchett won best actress for her performance in Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth: The Golden Age. His weakness is his tendency to fall back on silly, melodramatic contrivance better suited to popcorn fare than to a believable meditation on Elizabethan England. The film deals with the famous 1588 defeat of the Armada with Raleigh at its center, commanding ships to be set afire and aimed to ram the Spanish vessels. The screenplay is more action-oriented but not as smart, and some of the dialogue is downright cheesy. Elizabeth's treasury is depleted, her resources strained, her attention diverted by the arrival in her court of the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). He would have been 32 in 1585. Cate Blanchett stars as Elizabeth I, who in 1558, at the age of 25, took the throne of a Catholic country, declared it Protestant, fought off assassination by the French, the Spanish, her rivals and the pope, and ruled for 45 years. That Blanchett could appear in the same Toronto Film Festival playing Elizabeth and Bob Dylan, both splendidly, is a wonder of acting. When Elizabeth hears this news, Blanchett rises to full fury in an awesome example of regal jealousy. 5. It's close to a perfect moment in ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE, for it shows concisely the Virgin Queen's authority and loneliness, her genius and rage. And times when the struggle between the Protestant English (the good guys) and the Spanish Catholics (the bad … Reviewing the earlier film, I suggested that Shekhar Kapur was perhaps influenced by the rich colors and tapestries of his native India. Whereas Elizabeth covered the early years of the queen’s reign and her rise to power, Golden Age covers her middle years and the limitations of her position. Elizabeth: The Golden Age moved on to the familiar events of the 1580s, well into Elizabeth's long reign, including the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" is a worthy sequel to "Elizabeth". 1 / Audio . We see her kingdom threatened by two Catholics, Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton) who stood next in line to the throne, and Philip II of Spain (Jordi Molla), who was building a great armada to invade England. Excellent cinematography and photography are just icing on a cake of superb acting. However, if you’re looking for a historically accurate, straight-to-the-point movie about Queen Elizabeth I’s life, this isn’t that. Fri 2 Nov 2007 19.46 EDT. Because I love seeing historical eras brought to life in front of me, and I particularly love Elizabeth I. I … "The Golden Age" might have been called "Elizabeth II" had that title not already been taken.It's a sequel with Cate Blanchett reprising the royal role that won her instant stardom and an … There are scenes where the elaborate lace on Elizabeth's costume is so detailed and flawless that we don't think about the character, we wonder how long Blanchett must have had to stand there while holding the pose and not ruffling anything. "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" is a worthy sequel to "Elizabeth". On the one hand, I completely enjoyed it. a muddle that subsumes [its] premise in a mighty attempt to be several things all at once, with an uneven delivery. Can there be a third Elizabeth film? Cate Blanchett delivers the same performance that earned her so much praise the first time around. Elizabeth was indeed by all accounts a virgin, but in 1585, when the story is set, she would have been over 50 and her virginity more or less settled. 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