Elizabeth: The Golden Age

(114 min, 2007)
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Writers: William Nicholson, Michael Hirst
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush

It's not love that conquers all. It's strength.

(spoilers ahead)

Nine years before „Elizabeth – Golden Age' premiered people all over the world got to see 'Elizabeth' and they all fell in love in Cate Blanchett – fair, porcelain, redhead with such force in her and so much acting talent everyone were knocked off their feet. Because Blanchett is, in fact, so interesting, she can carry a film all by her own. She can even make it a very good film, solely because of her performance. But one thing I cannot stand is when the movie has story, has characters and has brilliant actors. But what it doesn't have is soul.

The first part of the movie dealt with how Elizabeth became a queen, as a young girl, in love with someone who she cannot marry for political reasons, dealing with religious conflict her father and her sister (Bloody Mary – when will we get a decent movie about her?) provoked. The second part shows us mature Elizabeth with even bigger problems – despite two story arcs similar to first part, Elizabeth has to deal with great Spanish Armada and assassination plot that ends up in difficult decision to sentence to death royal blood, Mary Stuart.

Cate Blanchett is asked to do many things here. She is asked to portray a woman, who was one of the greatest rulers in the the history of the word, asking a simple pirate to kiss her. She is asked to portray her as jealous and vain. I was disgusted by some of the scenes, but not by Blanchett, nor by the character but how poorly the writers showed it and handled it. There is neither consistency here, nor respect for characters. Blanchett is too good for the movie and her performance, even in such poor circumstances is so powerful and similar yet in many subtle details different from her work In 'Elizabeth'. She has amazing moments – the speech she gives to her troops before the battle and when she shows how wonderfully temperamental Elizabeth really was - “I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare when you dare to try me!”. Not to mention the murder attempt where the shooter is staning in front of her with a gun and she just stands her in all her might and glory. I was surprised he actually took a shot, I don't think many people would.

What stuns me is that he story structure ad character development is poor but the dialogues are beautiful, there are so many memorable lines from the movie but my favorite is without any doubt “We mortals have many weaknesses; we feel too much, hurt too much or too soon we die, but we do have the chance of love.” spoken by Clive Owen.