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Elizabeth It's somewhat of an irony that the first English-speaking film directed by Shekhar Kapur is, indeed, very English. Set in the 1500s, it's (allegedly) the true story of the reign of Elizabeth I, Queen of England.

Heretics being burnt at the stake, Elizabeth film review

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My philosophy regarding period dramas is simple: if a production crew is going to bother to dress up in old clothing and film in periodic settings, make it worthwhile. Don't just look the part and frolic around wearing leggings and tights, or - god forbid - we might get another Sense and Sensibility. But thanks to some tightly woven screenplays, there have been times when period dramas can prove blisteringly powerful. Wings of the Dove, for example, developed its setting and characters hand in hand and proved to be an excellent experience. As was The Crucible - an adaptation of the classic play - which reeked of raw energy and almost overwhelming tension. Elizabeth does nothing remarkable, and only a few things wrong. After the death of Queen Mary (Kathy Burke) the crown is passed along to her sister, Elizabeth (Cate Blancett). England is in a disastrous state - bankrupt, has no army, and is under threat from the French. Chief advisor Sir William Cecil (Richard Attenborough) urges Elizabeth to marry - either the French Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston) or her dead sister's husband, King Philip of Spain - to secure the future of England. But Elizabeth is enjoying a steamy romance with her childhood sweet heart Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes). She values the opinions of her Master of Spies, Sir Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), even though he is disliked at court. With the responsibility of a nation of aggressive Protestants and Catholics, Elizabeth must steer her country out of a crisis, and exposure those plotting against her. Michael Hirst, who has been writing screenplays for around fifteen years, penned Elizabeth's script with a messy innocence, of which is often greatly simplistic. A considerable portion of this film is dedicated to the romance between Elizabeth and Dudley, and Hirst makes it clear that the attraction between these two is based on social status - the queen having a jolly time seducing a young man, and vice versa. We are amply told why they are attracted to each other, but given no insight into what they actually feel for each other. Rush's Walsingham eats up another portion, a dark and enigmatic character who gives a good amount of credibility to the picture. The paradox of his personality is given in one moment when Walsingham explains to a young boy that he has all of his life ahead of him, just before neatly slicing his throat. It's that sort of irony which gives infinite possibilities to his character, but Kapur fails to complete the difficult task of really bringing him to life. Geoffrey Rush is well suited to the role and gives a plausible if not pleasing performance, looking carefully restrained without appearing as lifeless. Speculation has risen over Cate Blancett's performance as "The Virgin Queen", and Polygram Filmed Entertainment is pouring millions of dollars into promoting her for an Academy Award. She is bound to please many viewers, but for me, she never quite fitted the bill. Blancett has a look of opaqueness and transparency, and plays her part bit by bit, seemingly waiting for her next chance to look opaque and transparent. Critics are no doubt going to praise Elizabeth for its obvious excellence in visuals and a few very good scenes (balancing some pretty awful ones). But as people after the media screening began consulting on how good they thought it was ('That was brilliant, just brilliant,' I caught one critic saying), I was left cold. I hadn't been able to invest emotionally in the protagonist because I didn't understand her motives… I didn't know where she was coming from, or what she was after. That's strange, since Elizabeth is largely a character study, and if I didn't get a good insight into the main character, it could have only been moderately successful.

	From 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 2 and half stars (c) Luke Buckmaster Due for Australian release: October 22, 1998 See also: Ali's review (with more pictures) For credits and official site details, click here. Search Festivale for more
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Enter movie, TV show, or person   Provided by Internet Movie Database.	Just the facts: Title: Elizabeth (1998) Written by: Michael Hirst Directed by: Shekhar Kapur Produced by: Tim Bevan, Liza Chasin   (co-producer), Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward   (co-producer), Alison Owen Edited by: Jill Bilcock Director of Photography: Remi Adefarasin running time:
	The Players: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough, Christopher Eccleston, Jamie Foreman,Edward Hardwick, James Frain, Emily Mortimer, Kelly MacDonald, Amanda Ryan, Kathy Burke, Terence Rigby, John Gielgud
	Official website
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