A great starting point for a little bit of Elizabethan intrigue.

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 1999)

Worth watching if you like historical dramas. Even though the movie takes great license with timelines and historical characters, (glaring to those who know a little bit about it, and confusing to the rest of us...) it really sets the mood of the era.
I've never much liked Elizabeth I before I saw Cate Blanchett's most sympathetic and convincing portrayal. Joseph Fiennes is a little too sappy, making us wonder what Bess would have seen in him if he really was the love of her life. I imagine the real Robert Dudley was a much stronger character. Joseph never seems more than the moody, brooding, hapless boyfriend wannabe, but Cate more than carries him in her performance.
Geoffrey Rush is perfect in the sinister foil of Walsingham to the "pureness" of Queen Bess. Fanny Ardant and Christopher Eccleston offer strong supporting roles, perfectly cast. Other greats are Kathy Burke, and the great Masters of English drama.
The costumes are astonishing, and the sets are breathtaking. This movie really should have been a mini-series, giving us much more time to dealve into each character; we only seem to get little snatches before the director rushes onto the next scene. It may have been much more satisfying (and accurate) if made to be shown over a period of a few hours.
But, overall, in this day of campy movie-making, a historical drama of this scale and with such fine acting overall is a breath of fresh air. I suggest watching ELIZABETH, and then going to the library or internet to delve more into these larger-than-life figures of history.