"Tonight we settle all the royal business"

Rating: Null/10 (9 March 1999)

I'm a fan of costume dramas, so I was only mildly disapointed with Elizabeth. I found the dark period candle/torch lighting to be pleasingly realistic (much more realistic than the historically innacurate plot). Generally, the acting was pretty competent, highlighted by the performances of Blanchet and especially Rush. Strangely, I found Joseph Fiennes a little miscast in his role, though I thought him superb in Shakespeare in Love. Without the benefit of reading the other comments on this site first, I was reminded a great deal of The Godfather during the scenes of rounding up and punishing the conspirators. As costume dramas go, I almost prefer "Lady Jane", an equally historically inaccurate film that just seemed to come together a bit more cohesively and provide a bit more compelling story while being somewhat more entertaining. Still, I suppose it's a great deal better than most of the other dross on offer most of the time.