A beautifully filmed tale of treachery, deceit and religion.

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 1999)

This adaptation of the life and times of Elizabeth I is a tale of a woman who one day decides she can't take anymore of the nonsense all the men in her life have been dishing out. And so, she does something about it!
Director Shekhar Kapur's film focuses on one of history's most important leaders. Queen Elizabeth made her mark for several reasons, not the least of which was for firmly establishing the Church of England. In this film, Elizabeth is portrayed as a complicated woman, bitter, passionate, and politically charged.
The story unfolds with Queen Mary Tudor on the throne. She thinks she is pregnant, yet in fact she is dying (she has a tumor in her stomach). She despises her half sister, Elizabeth, and as Queen, Mary has restored the Catholic church in England.
Upon her death, Elizabeth is charged with taking on the throne. She is the natural successor, but still a controversial choice, in light of the fact that she, herself has converted to the protestant religion. Elizabeth's new empire is crawling with bishops and priests, lords and dukes, all desperate to keep their power, which is tied firmly to the Catholic faith.

Cate Blanchett is fabulous as Elizabeth I. The character is portrayed in a passionate light. Blanchett is a natural beauty, with strong looks that compliment this bold character. Through Blanchett we are allowed to see a vulnerable side to this remarkable woman, without feeling that she is also weak.
I am not an expert on this subject, however I wonder if this film did take some liberties with the character. Throughout the film she seems to be the only proponent of peace. When her court urges her to bear arms against Mary of Guise, Elizabeth would prefer to talk it out. Elizabeth is sympathetic to the little people, even to those who may have betrayed her. She is passionate and playful with the man she loves, Robert Dudley, played by Joseph Fiennes. We are used to seeing a stoic, iron-clad monarch in film portrayals of this character. This new, 90's kind of gal, is at times a bit hard to believe, if not merely unique(?).

Geoffrey Rush offers a standout performance playing Sir Francis Walsingham. He was nominated in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love, a film which he was also great in, however I do think that this was a better role. Walsingham is the cool, calculating right hand man to Elizabeth. He takes on the nasty deeds that her character dare not even think. In his opening scene he chastises a young man who attempts to slash his throat. When the man finally sees reason, Walsingham calmly turns the razor on the young man.
Elizabeth is a beautiful film to watch. The sets are magnificent. Castles, battlegrounds and thrones all come to life. The costumes are also great. There are scenes where Elizabeth is being dressed by her ladies-in-waiting and I, for one, could not wait to see what they were going to outfit her with next.
Hands down! this was defineatly the best film of 1998. I found the storyline to be mesmerizing. Well drawn out characters, proper pacing and enchanting scenery, made this a film that I could not take my eyes off of. Kapur's film captures well, an interesting time in history, and brings to new life, one of history's favorite Queens. I recommend this as a companion piece to A Man for All Seasons. Watch that film to fully understand why Elizabeth's reign began in such turmoil.