Review: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
November 14, 2007 | Filed under Reviews
I adore Cate Blanchett. Absolutely adore her and her incredible, seemingly effortless, but totally flawless, approach to acting. This movie is virtually nothing but a stage for displaying Blanchett’s prodigious talents and huge emotional range; this is disappointing, if only because so much more could have been done with the movie.
There should be a common rule applied to all historical films dealing with wars, conquests, and battle for thrones – for each hour of emoting, there should be a ten minute battle scene with lots of blood, gore, and death. Unfortunately, this film didn’t follow this rule – for the two hours of emotional distress, fancy gowns, unrequited love, and duty to one’s country, the audience was treated to barely five minutes of actual fight scenes. The strategem behind the defeat of the Spanish Armada, plus the great naval battle itself, should have been the focus of the film, rather than relegated to the last half hour. It was a significant turning point in England’s history, and should have been filmed as such, yet was treated as though it were a footnote.
The cast shone in their roles supporting Blanchett, with the performances filmed as such. It was made quite clear via lighting, camera angles, and the like, that the supporting actors were clearly subordinate to Blanchett. Because of this, we come away from the movie knowing a bit about Elizabeth, her temperament and motivations, yet we hardly know Walter Raleigh, Bess, or Walsingham. A person is shaped by those around them – to truly understand Elizabeth we need first to understand those around her, and the film doesn’t afford us that opportunity.
Unhappily, the audience never gets to see Clive Owen barechested, or even semi-nude. Director Shekhar Kapur is not catering for his female audience – half of us will watch this movie specifically for catching a glimpse of Clive Owen, and to ignore our wish is to incur the wrath of those who just want a bit of a real manly man.
Essentially, the film is essentially lacking in what it needs most to capture an audience – action. Kapur has done England a great disservice by not focusing on the event that shaped her next few hundred years. Even Blanchett’s tour de force performance cannot improve what is truly a slow-paced film.
One Response to Review: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Leave a Reply
I reserve the right to edit or delete your comment as I see fit, though I only delete comments from anonymous commenters, or people with multiple aliases. Using a genuine name/email combination will ensure that your comment is approved.
Just saw this the other day, wow, totally not a “date movie”… unless you’re an obsessive history fanatic like me, even then it’s stretching it. I wish we could learn more about Walter Raleigh since I was gushing after the part where he took off his jacket and said “it’s a puddle, your majesty”.
Crystal on November 18, 2007 #