Elizabeth (1998) Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough, Fanny Ardant, Kathy Burke, Kelly MacDonald, Sir John Gielgud, Eric Cantona, Vincent Cassel, James Frain, Daniel Craig. Produced by Alison Owen, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan. Music by David Hirschfelder. Cinematography by Remi Adefarasin. Screenplay by Michael Hirst. Directed by Shekhar Kapur. 124 minutes. Rated R, 2.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
She's coquettish. She's defiant. She's a somnolent rag doll. She's a fiery feminist. She's Elizabeth I of England, self-proclaimed Virgin Queen and star of "Elizabeth," a revisionist historical drama that manages to entertain and annoy all at the same time. In his first English- language film, director Shekhar Kapur tries to satisfy the Masterpiece Theatre and MTV crowds simultaneously. The result is an interesting, often frustrating work that suffers from a case of cinematic multiple personality disorder.
Cate Blanchett, so wonderful in "Oscar and Lucinda," plays the monarch who took the throne in 1558 and ruled England for 45 years. Emulating a statue of the Virgin Mary, she assumed the Virgin Queen moniker following a bizarre change in her physical appearance. After hours of work by her handmaidens, she stunned her subjects by striding out in a stylized wig and regal clothing, with an application of make-up turning her skin a stark, unearthly white. Basically, she became the 16th century equivalent of Michael Jackson.
The film is dripping with intrigue, as damn near everybody plots to either kill Elizabeth or co-opt her reign through marriage. Along the way, Kapur employs a variety of self-conscious stylistic tricks to give the film a hip feel. He's quite fond of rotation. During many sequences, if one character isn't circling another, the camera is circulating everybody (sensitive viewers may wish to bring some Dramamine). The twirling cinematography, as well as several fade-to-white segues, gets old fast. The most annoying camera gimmick comes when Elizabeth nervously prepares for a speech and Kapur uses quick jump-cuts to show her anxious rehearsal. The effect is wildly out-of-place for a historical piece, resembling the flubbed line outtakes that pop up during the closing credits of an episode of "Home Improvement."
Why Kapur felt compelled to jazz things up is beyond me. God knows there's enough drama in the screenplay's Byzantine plotlines. While virtually every major character in the film is scheming against Elizabeth, the Catholic Church serves as the prime villain, with Kapur helpfully supplying ominous music whenever the political intrigue moves to the Vatican. Speaking of characters, the film boasts some very colorful ones, ranging from the reptilian Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston) to the Duc d'Anjou (Vincent Cassel), the cross-dressing brother of the King of France.
While the supporting players are certainly interesting, the film centers on only three characters. Joseph Fiennes is bland as Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth's duplicitous lover. Much more interesting is royal hatchet man Sir Francis Walsingham, a dark figure who casts a long shadow despite limited screen time, thanks to an extremely focused performance from Geoffrey Rush. And then there's Elizabeth, given a decidedly peculiar, but mesmerizing presence by Cate Blanchett. With an odd combination of side glances and secret smiles, Blanchett's Elizabeth often seems preoccupied, as if listening to distant voices or remembering happier times.
"Elizabeth" is full of lavish set pieces, violent imagery and eccentric personalities. The film may be messy, but it certainly held my attention. Ultimately, though, the story is so emotionally detached that I found it difficult to fully invest in the fates of the players. If Kapur had spent less time on jazzy camera moves and more time exploring the passion behind the characters' facades, "Elizabeth" might have packed the desired punch. As is, it comes off as merely a sterile, historically inaccurate period piece with way-cool visuals.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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