Worthy of the Praise!!

Rating: 10/10 (26 February 1999)

This movie took my breathe away.
Elizabeth is a grandiose movie, made the way all historical pictures should be. It has a great gothic feel to it, which only serves to height it over-all impact. The opening scene is very powerful, as is all the visual links with religion to Elizabeth, like when she is first imprisoned and she is shown through the crossed window with her ladies-in-waiting. I have been told that a number of other actresses were asked to play this role, but I do not think anyone of them could have pulled this role off as well as Cate Blanchett, with exception being Kate Winslet.
I applaud the Academy for giving a nomination to Elizabeth, but I find it rather unsettling that the director received no nomination of his own.
The one big problem I did find with this movie is that it plays out, especially towards the end, like a bit of a Mafia film or a Godfather movie, with all the evil enemies of England being killed for the safety of the monarch. Walsingham seems to me to be a bit too Machiavellian in his methods as does the last half hour of the film.
I did enjoy this film thoroughly as a experience in the way I would want to view a film, but I do not see the reason for all the historical license the filmmakers took. Oh well.