One of the better movies out right now is Elizabeth: the Golden Age. It has excellent acting, an interesting story, and an epic sweep. It’s also a pretty good history lesson, though, as Huck Finn says at the beginning of Mark Twain’s novel, there are some “stretchers.”
The Golden Age is a sequel to Elizabeth, a 1998 release starring Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I and Geoffrey Rush as Walsingham, her chief counselor. In this new picture, Elizabeth and Walsingham have both aged and matured, as have Blanchett and Rush. Add to those two Clive Owen (Sir Walter Raleigh) and Samantha Morton (Mary, Queen of Scots) and you end up with a strong acting ensemble.
The Golden Age opens in 1585, when England is still experiencing a major religious upheaval, which has been going on for decades. King Henry VIII, Elizabeth’s father, had split with Roman Catholicism and established the Anglican Church in England, but the conflict between the Protestant Anglicans and the “Papists” has not subsided. Elizabeth has been Queen for nearly thirty years; she is unmarried and has produced no heir to the throne. King Philip II of Spain, who had been king consort of England in his role as husband to Elizabeth’s deceased older sister Mary I (“Bloody Mary”), has been plotting against Elizabeth and sends a team of assassins to the Queen’s court. Into this situation steps the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh: explorer, statesman, and poet. The assassination attempt is foiled, but this does not stop Philip from plotting a major attack on England by the Spanish Armada. Before the movie is over Elizabeth becomes enamored of Raleigh (though she can have no union with him), agrees to have her “Papist” cousin Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded for treason, and presides over the defeat of the Armada by England. She also discovers that Raleigh and the pregnant Bess, her main lady-in-waiting, have been secretly married. Furious, she dismisses them from Court. (A stretcher -- In reality, they were both imprisoned in the Tower of London for a time). Eventually she forgives them.
Strengths:
(1) As mentioned above, the acting is almost uniformly effective, but Elizabeth: the Golden Age is Blanchett’s picture above all. She portrays the Queen’s strength, vulnerability, and complexity in admirable fashion.
(2) History: You can learn a great deal from this film.
(3) Underlying themes: There’s an exemplary attitude toward faith and prayer here, with most of the principals seen praying and affirming God’s sovereignty. The virtues of self-sacrifice and devotion are also strongly presented. Note these words by Elizabeth at Tilbury to her fighting men, before the Armada attacked:
“...therefore, I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die among
st you all, to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king …”
Weaknesses:
(1) The Golden Age is not 100 % historically accurate. Sir Walter Raleigh, for example, is shown as having a major role in the defeat of the Armada, though in reality he was apparently only a military advisor.
(2) The picture tries to depict the momentous events of several years in a two-hour presentation. You might need a scorecard to sort your way through the many characters and happenings.
Bottom line: Worth your time and money.
Caution: There is one suggestive (though not explicit) romantic scene, and there is implied violence. Not for children.
Film Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 3 stars
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