Great mood, weak plot. If you liked Elizabeth, check out 'Queen Margot.'

Rating: Null/10 (31 January 1999)

I enjoyed 'Elizabeth' a great deal. With these dark, violent and sex charged period pieces, I can ignore plot more than usual. I loved the contrasts of dark and light. The sets and costumes were wonderful. This is a very entertaining movie.
The plot is fairly weak, particularly near the end. Except for Walsingham and Dudley, I couldn't really connect emotionally with the characters. Elizabeth clearly invited sympathy, but as the plot worked towards it's climax, I found myself fairly distant. There were too many themes, too may characters and too little time spent developing ideas. What was the central issue? Was it love? Religion? England? Survival? I never could decide.
Violence is an important element for 'Elizabeth,' but it is a bit too modern for my taste. At times, I felt the script writers had simply put 15th century clothes on a modern gangster plot and hoped no one would notice.
I wish the movie had done a better job recreating the times. Old fashioned period pieces seemed to focus on the way good manners' conquers all and I don't mind any movie that abandons that plot line. On the other hand, I do respect movies that manage let us experience the past in a realistic way.
For example, violence permeated every aspect of life during the Elizabethan era. The 'noble' leisure time activity for men was hunting down animals, with particular interest in dangerous varieties. It is hard for us to imagine, as moderns, just how important the kill' was to the 'noble' class. Hunting/killing skill was the key measure of success for a noble' male. They didn't watch TV or read good books in their free time.
If you found 'Elizabeth' intriguing, I strongly advise checking out 'Queen Margot.' 'Queen Margot' does a better job of portraying the ups and downs of surviving Elizabethan times.
'Queen Margot' is a mid 90s French movie that covers a famous royal wedding in the Louvre where the bride's side decided to massacre the groom's side during the reception. If you visit the Louvre, you can walk down the hallways where the murders were performed. The massacre was predicated upon religious fears and thus connects powerfully to 'Elizabeth.' In fact, the story covers the activities of Duc d'Anjou after giving up his attempt to marry Elizabeth. If you liked Elizabeth and want to get a more coherent view of the times, rent Queen Margot.' It is not for weak stomachs, though.