Cate makes Liz her own
Why
is it that sequels seldom equal the first-born? In this case Elizabeth:
The Golden Age is part two of the "Elizabeth" trilogy; yet
while it's a fine costume drama, it doesn't quite measure up to
the first. It's directed again by Shekhar Kapur, while those excellent
Aussies Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There) and Geoffrey Rush
(Pirates of the Caribbean) reprise their roles. Elizabeth
I must be the most filmed Queen in history by now, with Blanchett
rather making the role her own.
In this episode, Elizabeth faces trouble from Philip
II of Spain, a seriously weird figure as played by Jordi Molla.
This Bible-mumbling zealot is determined to return Protestant
England to the Catholic faith. Mary Stuart, a.k.a. Mary Queen
of Scots (Samantha Morton), is locked up in a castle somewhere
and needs his aid to put herself on the throne and so a plot is
hatched. Meantime Elizabeth takes a shine to Sir Walter Raleigh
(Clive Owen), a pirate who happily plunders Spanish ships for
the greater good of old England.
A surprising Clive Owen (Children of Men)
with swashbuckling swagger and glint in the eye that would do
justice to Errol Flynn. Actually while Elizabeth is swooning over
Raleigh he gets her lady in waiting pregnant, thus his shares
severely plummet for a goodly time. All this supposedly shows
Elizabeth is a very human woman at heart, though Cate really is
at her best as the imperial monarch shouting lines at the Spanish
Ambassador like "I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain
bare if you dare to try me !"
The
plot to overthrow Elizabeth is uncovered by wily Sir Francis Walsingham
(Geoffrey Rush) who adds a sense of gravitas to the whole deal,
a few unlucky fellows face some abhorrent torture in the dungeons,
and Mary ends up getting the chop. Actually Samantha Morton's
performance as Mary is a show stealer, as she hears the news of
her detention in the dreaded Tower for treason she seems to visibly
wilt before the cameras, and the final sequence on the chopping
block in her red dress is memorable.
But in finding Elizabeth's own cousin Mary a traitor,
the sly Walsingham has unwittingly set England on a course to
disaster. Philip is now happily cutting down the forests of Spain
to build the Armada, and finally sails against England with a
huge fleet. Admiral Lord Howard at the head of the British fleet
ably assisted by Raleigh (now in the good books again) has a fiery
idea to defeat the Spanish, and we are treated to a computer generated
war at sea which is the weakest part of the film but fortunately
relatively brief. All ends well Britain is saved and prosperity
reigns with good Queen Bess.
This is all done in the epic Hollywood mould, from
the sumptuous costumes and sets, soaring music, and engaging performances
by the cast. Direction is confident if pacing slightly on the
elegiac side it remains classical spectacle. Certainly editing
and photography is of a high order as we now expect in such films.
Sure there's some fruity melodramatic dialogue and
historical facts might be rather bent in translation yet while
it may not win the awards of the first Elizabeth film
you have to say it's an entertaining evening in front of the TV,
and one admires the effort that has been put into the quality
of the production.
John Bale
