Review: Elizabeth
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joeseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston and Richard Attenborough
Directed by Shekhar Kapur
Approx running time 130 min
Though it is a fine piece of filmmaking, there's something about Elizabeth...that left me a bit cold, and I think it is something that bugs me quite often in films, particularly these days; I just didn't care about the characters. To me, the first and foremost job of a filmmaker is to create characters (be they imagined or historical as the case may be) that the audience gives a hoot about. And though Elizabeth works well on many levels, it falls short of excellence because of that very reason.
Elizabeth takes place in England in 1554, as Queen Mary, half sister of Elizabeth and a monarch on the side of Catholicism is dying. Before she dies, though, she cannot bear to sign a document which would condemn her half sister to death because of her heretical Protestant beliefs. As a result, amidst much anger within the council, Elizabeth becomes the Queen of England. The film chronicles her rise to power as she fights for a unified Church of England and tries to bring order to her personal and political life.
Much of the film deals with Elizabeth's love for Lord Robert, a mysterious man who thrusts his lordship onto many a woman as he continues to proclaim his love for the queen. There is much ado about her lack of a husband, and political pressures from Spain and France enter into the equation. The problem with the film lies with this as its centerpiece, as love interests are such a character driven element. I didn't much care about the characters (perhaps aside for Elizabeth who is played quite well by Blanchett) and so I didn't have much interest in who would join her in her nuptials. The cast is rounded out well with the marvelous Rush who plays the queen's most loyal advisor, Sir Francis, and Attenborough as a well-meaning but old-fashioned lead council.
Why then, you must be asking, do I recommend Elizabeth? Simply because it is the result of a perfect pairing of director and cinematographer. Kapur and his cinematographer Remi Adefarasin (neither of whom I have heard) create a beautifully realized piece of filmmkaing from the technical side. The light streams through each frame as in any painting from the period and beautifully captures the realistic light sources that would have been found in churches, cellars and castles in 16th century Europe. Each frame is rich with color contrasted with blackness or blown-out white light from windows. The costumes by Alexandra Byrne deserve a mention as they are such an inportant aspect of each shot. Indeed, Elizabeth is one of the most visually beautiful films of the decade, ranking with Kundun and Braveheart. Watch also for the incredibly "Godfather-esque" mass murder scene. It made me think in retrospect of the similarities between the two films.
* * * out of * * * * stars ©1998 Nick Amado
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