Elizabeth

Rating: 6/10 (16 November 2007)

I saw quite a few clips of this film on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, where the leading actress was number 37, and I'm quite glad I gave it a go. Basically Britain is being divided by faith, Protestant vs. Catholic, and the current Queen Mary Tudor (an unusual choice in Kathy Burke) has no heir, and the only person that could take over, her half-sister Elizabeth (BAFTA and Golden Globe winning, and Oscar nominated Cate Blanchett) is arrested, but not long after Mary has died of a tumour (which they thought was a pregnancy), without signing her death warrant, Elizabeth is chosen to take over, obviously becoming Elizabeth I. Her first few years are shaky, mostly because she "rules from the heart, not the head", there is also concern, particularly from her adviser Sir William Cecil (Lord Sir Richard Attenborough) that she should marry. But she refuses to do so, even with seeing many suitors, most likely because she has a short (sexless) relationship with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (Joseph Fiennes). It is towards the end, with help from Sir Francis Walsingham (BAFTA winning Geoffrey Rush) that she has killed all enemies, and recreates herself, with the white make up and new robes as "The Virgin Queen". Also starring John Gielgud as The Pope, Fanny Ardant as Mary of Guise, Terence Rigby as Bishop Gardiner, Christopher Eccleston as Duke of Norfolk, Amanda Ryan as Lettice Howard, James Frain as Alvaro De La Quadra, Jamie Foreman as Earl of Sussex, Edward Hardwicke as Earl of Arundel, Trainspotting's Kelly Macdonald as Isabel Knollys, Wayne Sleep as Dance Tutor, Emily Mortimer as Kat Ashley, Angus Deayton as Woad, Chancellor of the Eschequer, Eric Cantona as Monsieur De Foix, Vincent Cassel as Duc d'Anjou, Casino Royale's Daniel Craig as John Ballard and pop star Lily Allen as a Lady in Waiting. It was pretty dark in places, particularly at the beginning, and it is a good film with some good performances. It won the Oscar for Best Makeup, and it was nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Music for David Hirschfelder and Best Picture, it won the BAFTA Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, Best Cinematography and Best Make Up/Hair, and it was nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Original Screenplay, the David Lean Award for Direction for Shekhar Kepur and Best Film, and it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Motion Picture - Drama. It was number 12 on The 50 Greatest British Films. Good!