Her Majesty the Queen

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2006)

A lush, textured biopic which brings to life Elizabeth's inexorable conversion from a bohemian, art-loving girl to an implacable icon who brought England from obscurity into the age of Enlightment.
Shemar Kapur elevates ELIZABETH from what could have been yet the umpteenth Masterpiece Theater production full of lush costumes, elaborate set pieces, verbose speeches, and by-the-numbers story. His vision of the England at the cusp of Elizabeth's ascent to the throne is striking, dark, and menacing -- this is a country without a leader, being sold to the highest bidder. You feel the dangers at every corner. There is no guarantee that Elizabeth the Queen will survive her first years as such, unscathed. There is too much anger and hatred against her as in the way Kapur introduces every male character who in seeing her natural power recoil from it as if they had received a slap square in the face. Even when we know the eventual outcome and Kapur doesn't always present the events as they actually occurred (as when Walsingham kills Marie de Guise after a night of pleasure), Kapur is excellent in establishing a sense of wonder at just how Elizabeth opens up like a flower and outshines her competition. In having Cate Blanchett portray her in a very regal yet modern way we cease to look at Elizabeth as a painting. Watch her practice her speech in a rapid succession of scenes: this is a vulnerable woman thrown in a den of lions having to prove herself. And to think this woman, who would have preferred dancing and living a life of artistic pleasures, turned England into a powerful monarchy.
A wonderful supporting cast of who's-who in British television and film, ELIZABETH the movie which brought Blanchett's talents to the forefront and established her power as an actress of her generation.