Elizabeth: The Golden Age (12A)

Film

Drama

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Time Out says

Mon Oct 29 2007

There’s a scene in ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ that shows the forces of Spain preparing for the invasion of England, working overtime dying robes Inquisition red. It’s an odd thing to focus on amid the grand mechanics of the Armada, but quite in keeping with a film that values costume above all else, neglecting both the niceties of history and the demands of drama.

Picking up a few decades after their 1998 collaboration ‘Elizabeth’ left off, star Cate Blanchett, director Shekhar Kapur and co-writer Michael Hirst (late of US TV’s ‘The Tudors’) give us a Virgin Queen comfortably established on the throne but facing Catholic conspiracy at home and abroad. (Cue Jordi Mollà’s creepy Philip II and Rhys Ifans’ post-‘Da Vinci Code’ demon cleric.) Meanwhile, Her Maj is swooning to tales of transatlantic derring-do from cocky Sir Walter Raleigh (a rather one-note Clive Owen) – as, awkwardly, is her closest attendant and friend, Elizabeth Throckmorton (Abbie Cornish).

Making soap of statecraft, the film has plenty of juicy moments, but offers an inconsistent rather than complex view of Elizabeth: the magnetic Blanchett always convinces in imperious hauteur, but her lurches into jealous pique and flustered vulnerability don’t quite fit. (Samantha Morton’s captive Mary Stuart, prickling with pride and fear, almost steals the show.) Kapur has a fine eye for royal spectacle-making, swathing in rich textiles and ravenous pans the procession of the Royal Barge and the exotic ornaments of court; if it’s Tuesday, it must be zebras. The Armada set-pieces founder, however, and the sumptuous visuals begin to feel distracting, even absurd. Did she really wear a ruff in the bath?

Author: Ben Walters

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Release details

Rated:

12A

UK release:

Fri Nov 2 2007

Duration:

114 mins

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(13 ratings)

Historically inacurate but very entertaining.

jonpaul Fri Nov 21 2008
Rated as: 4/5
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I believe the opening scene which is to have been Fotheringhay was the backdrop of Eilean Donan, ,Isle of Skye, thus the Cuillins in the background; however it is difficult to tell, considering the brevity of the scene. Historically inaccurate, however if one enjoys Blanchette and is able to overlook fact, the film is grand!

DTaly Wed May 28 2008
Rated as: 5/5
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few words......cate is amazing!!

veronica Mon Jan 7 2008
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One reviewer says the movie panders to an American audience. But have you read the American reviews of this flic? They absolutely hate it with a passion & they mock it as if it had been put in the stocks in the town square. I can't make my mind up, There's only one thing for it. Go and see it as my Birthday present to myself. I shall go armed with both tomatoes and popcorn.

Graeeme Stewart of Scots. Thu Dec 27 2007
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A load of old tosh ....save your money

celia toynbee Wed Nov 28 2007
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The film is well worth seeing. It continues the theme established in its predecessor, which is that England as a fledgling Protestant state was in great danger of being attacked and driven back to Catholicism by the Catholic states in Europe. As the monarch of that upstart Protestant state, Elizabeth faces great challenges and threats. Cate Blanchett conveys the depth of character required - tough but humane, principled but pragmatic, and also regal but vulnerable. The sketch of a romance with Sir W Raleigh did not convince entirely, but the film is nevertheless a thoughtful, colourful, realistic addition to cinematic narratives of Elizabeth's reign.

Henry Ford Thu Nov 22 2007
Rated as: 5/5
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Historically inaccurate. Good performance by Cate Blanchette but because of the inaccurate story it is all wasted. Raleigh was inaccurate as a person and in events. What a pity, there was plenty of true events to make this exciting so why didnt they stick to the facts! Storyline was weak. Shows that CGI on its own is not good enough to make a good film. Sigh!

Fintan the Bold Sat Nov 17 2007
Rated as: 1/5
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What a load of cobblers. Lots of pretty pictures and frocks, madatory torure and chopping scene, Walter rRleigh beating off the Spanish single-handedly. It takes me a while to get back to a cinema after junk like this

Brian Adams Thu Nov 15 2007
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Laughably bad but not enough to redeem it. Probably the worst film I've sat through this year.

Michael Thu Nov 15 2007
Rated as: 1/5
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daniel boulter

daniel boulter Wed Nov 14 2007
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Elizabeth: The Golden Age (12A)

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