ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Reviewed by Sam Hatch
Shekhar Kapur's 1999 historical biopic Elizabeth was a genuinely entertaining indie, starring a then unsung Cate Blanchett as the titular Queen Elizabeth the First of England (not to mention a bevy of other up-and-comers such as Daniel Craig and Vincent Cassel). Made just a few years after the glut of gore-drenched battle-heavy period pieces such as Rob Roy and Braveheart, it was refreshing to find a similar film that derived most of its thrills from plot twists and subtle (yet no less delicious!) acts of revenge.
The Elizabeth of that film was a young girl thrust upon a precarious throne, forced to balance her love for a young nobleman and her need to unite a nation of bitterly opposed Catholic and Protestant citizens. Geoffrey Rush as her advisor Sir Francis Walsingham was the scene stealer, a master of espionage who often came off as William Shakespeare's version of James Bond. Their unique chemistry and director Kapur's talented eye made that film the artistic success that it was.
In the following years, as Blanchett's star rose to Middle-Earth and beyond, Kapur has only helmed an underwhelming remake of The Four Feathers. It was always his intention to return to the lore of England's great Virgin Queen, and while the move to do so now is easy to justify in his case – it took considerable more coaxing on Blanchett's part. Having shed the skin of this particularly complex character almost ten years ago, she was loath to return lest she bollix it up. Indeed, time has shown that by and large film sequels do not work if too much time has elapsed between their conceptions (Aliens notwithstanding).
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (written by William Nicholson and Michael Hirst) is unsurprisingly the lesser of the two films, but it isn't wholly absent of merit. Whereas the first film was both a twist on the mythological superhero ‘origin story' (her decision to become the ‘virgin queen' is almost identical to the genesis of Bruce Wayne's alter-ego in Batman Begins) and a meditation on the sacred struggle between the fully divine and the fully human (or in this case the fully royal and the fully human), this film ushers in the next stage of the hero's evolution. Oddly, both that event and the promised ‘Golden Age' of the title are held back for the majority of the film.
When we reunite with Elizabeth some twenty odd years later, her throne is yet again under question. The funny-walking King Phillip II (Jordi Mollà) of Spain plans on eradicating the pale queen's reign and replacing it with that of his young daughter Isabella (who ironically seeks the public attention her father shrinks from, and faithfully carries around a very Elizabethan doll). Meanwhile, Elizabeth's repeated refusal to marry finds her the target of others' ambition, as her heir Mary, Queen of Scots (a freaky looking Samantha Morton) possesses a fair share of rebels anxious to see the crown passed down earlier than expected.
Yet this abundance of political drama takes a back seat to her girlish attraction to the newly arrived explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). Owen is charming as always in the role, and as he tells his tales of the New World to the Queen and her entourage, it seems as if his eyes widen until they nearly burst from their sockets. Amidst a phalanx of dull suitors from around the world, it's Raleigh's piratic enthusiasm that ensnares a frigid heart that has been kept under lock and key since the betrayal of Joseph Fiennes' Robert Dudley in the original film.
Prior to this development, Elizabeth had silenced her own romantic yearnings by living vicariously through her handmaiden Bess (Abbie Cornish) - an arrangement that grows infinitely more complicated once the Queen finds herself actively courting the handsome young sailing man full of wild tales and crates of potatoes and tobacco. Blanchett and Owen do share a remarkable chemistry, as does the latter with Cornish. The rub is that this drama usurps plenty of screen time, and those expecting a wham-bam series of scenes with England kicking ass will be forced into submission. In a way, it reminded me of how The Matrix Reloaded failed to capitalize on the energy established by its much superior predecessor (though, y'know… set in seventeenth century England and without mirrorshades).
And while it's certainly realistic given the ravages of time, the return of Geoffrey Rush as a much older Walsingham doesn't deliver quite the kick I was expecting. In this film his wits have been dulled ever-so-slightly, just enough to rob us of another tour-de-force montage of him besting every traitor in sight. Still, we're delivered an aging, human character, who has to face up to his own nature once a member of his own family is revealed to be a plotter against the throne.
Towards the end we are finally granted a glimpse of the warrior queen Elizabeth, a superheroine clad in battle armor as she watches a fiery sea battle from the cliffs of her homeland. While this myth-fueling scene may rankle some of the more sensitive historians in the audience, one has to admire the beauty of its painterly appearance. The entire naval battle between England and the Spanish Armada is visually resplendent, particularly the underwater shots bathed in aquatic blues and greens, offset with distant, burning oranges. In one such scene, we even encounter the odd juxtaposition of a massive white horse swimming to shore above us.
Shekhar Kapur again proves to be a capable director, and once again revels in staging shots from high above, as the oft-referenced God looks down upon the madness below. Also returning is the onslaught of bizarro wigs and headpieces, accenting the amazingly intricate costume work by Alexandra Byrne. Craig Armstrong and A.R. Rahman have taken over musical duties with aplomb, though I was disappointed that David Hirschfelder's plaintive main theme from the first film didn't appear until well into the body of this one.
So there's no ass-kicking valkyrie Queen conquering the world with a kindness tinged with a touch of venom. In her place we have an overgrown teenager lamenting the unfairness of unrequited lust. And a battle or two. But really, this film just about ends when it really gets going. I would complain if I wasn't so darned entertained. Blanchett, Owen and the technical geniuses behind this project have distracted me from the fact that it pales in comparison to its predecessor. Plus, it looks purty!