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source: Elizabeth

Knowing some background of the Elizabethan age did not prepare me for the realistic portrayal of life in and around her court. The film was well-done (though the Godfather-like climax was not as well done as Coppola) and well-cast, but it seemed somewhat unfocused to me at times. The 27 year old main character conveys a great presence, as do Geoffrey Rush and Joseph Fiennes. Unfortunately, we did not get to see enough of Elizabeth and her advisors in the "war room" preparing to plot strategy, and I'm convinced that had I not taught this age many times, I would have been thoroughly lost. An "A" for effort, but definitely an "E" for editing.

Nearly every bit the overblown soap opera as its sequel of ten years later, Cate Blanchett's first turn as the Queen of England already finds her impressive talent buried underneath lavish production. Shekhar Kapur is a good fit for directing the historical intrigue but too often finds himself swept up into the production values inherent in this rich period piece at the behest of filming actual character-based content. So mildly dull and partially melodramatic the entire proceedings feel, that Vincent Cassel nearly steals the show amongst this extremely classy cast by flaunting his dress-wearing zaniness for merely a few minutes.

The director of this film didn't know how to tell a story. The average viewer (I'm below average) desperately needed a narrator to fill them in on the English, French, and Spanish history, politics, and religion of those fascinating and turbulent times. What kind of claim did Mary Queen of Scots have to the English throne: blood, politics, or religion??? Too many DARKLY LIGHTED scenes. How did this film get into Oscar contention??? I noted that Joseph Fiennes was a busy boy what with roles in Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth in roughly the same time period.

It is clear that this was India's revenge for British Imperialism. This story bore absolutely no resemblance to what actually happened during Elizabeth Tudor's reign. The costuming was a travesty of what it could have been. It was a wonderful Victorian fantasy of what they thought Elizabethan clothing might have looked like. The writer took 45 years of her reign and compressed it into a 2 1/2 hour movie that bore no resemblance to the truth. I'm certain Elizabeth is flipping in her grave at the slander of her person, reign, friends and country. What is worse is that this has a study guide that is being used in junior high and high school history classes as true history. Do not waste your money or time on this waste of film. If one wants an accurate depiction of Elizabeth and her reign, rent, beg, steal or buy Elizabeth R.

The film isn't so bad, but in my eyes (which have seen very costly costumes, locations, stars) the expenditure should have brought forward a much more interesting result, more historical accuracy and - most of all: better music!