Significant Pursuit by Renaissance Guy

     One word describes the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and that word is stunning.  I know that that particular word is thrown around a lot, but it suits this movie perfectly.  In fact there is a lot wrong with the movie, but it is magnificently stunning.  It stars Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I, and she does a remarkable job, as always, earning a nomination for Best Actress by several groups .  It is directed by Shehkar Kapur, who has put together a visual and dramatic delight with this project.

     I said that there is a lot wrong with the movie, and other people agree.  Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it 1 star out of 5, and Richard Ebert gave it 2 1/2 stars out of 4.  Here’s what’s wrong with it:

1. It portrays English Protestants as the absolute good guys and the Spanish and British Catholics as the absolute bad guys.  There is very little subtlety or nuance or balance.
2. It completely changes key historical facts that go beyond literary license, in my opinion.  I can forgive a few anachronisms, but it’s hard to overlook people that never existed and events that never occurred in real life.

     Nevertheless, there is a lot that is good about this movie, namely:

1. The costumes, designed by Alexandra Byme, are breathtakingly beautiful and look like the clothes that appear in the portraits of that day.
2. The music, composed by Craig Armstrong and A. R. Rahman, is rich and evocative.
3. The acting was superb–not only Cate Blanchett’s, but also the acting of Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Samantha Morton, and Abbie Cornish.
4. The plot, despite the many historical inaccuracies, is spellbinding. 

WARNING:  This film has some graphic images of imprisonment and torture that are not for the faint of heart.  You like to turn away at a couple of key points.