Doesn't Hold A Candle To Elizabeth R

Rating: 5/10 (23 January 2000)

Whereas Bette Davis (Elizabeth & Essex) makes Elizabeth out to be a cold, mannish, megalomaniacal ruler, in this movie Cate Blanchett portrays her as a weak, vascillating woman. Frankly, Elizabeth I was more a combination of the two and perhaps the best portrayal was Glenda Jackson's in "Elizabeth R".
A bit of liberty seems to have been taken, in that this movie clearly asserts that Elizabeth had sexual relations with Dudley--a controversy that has never been resolved by historians. She was after all, called "The Virgin Queen" and nobody has yet disproved that moniker.
Perhaps my favorite scene in this movie is when Sir Francis Walsingham kills the boy who is his would-be assassin. Took me completely by surprise. I wonder if this is all artistic license, this writer knows of no such incident in history. Still it was in keeping with the character of the times and of Elizabeth's "Moor", her great spymaster, Walsingham.
This movie is more accurate in some ways than either "Elizabeth and Essex" or "Elizabeth R" for it makes clear the lack of warmth, cleanliness and privacy that characterized 16th century England. It very clearly emphasizes the treachery that Elizabeth faced daily during her reign.

Worth watching, but I still prefer Elizabeth R when it comes to telling this story.