BEFORE: With a full week of royalty-based films coming up, I'm worried about my ability to stay awake - these things tend to be stuffy affairs that are very talky-talky. Lots of people sitting on thrones and discussing things with their advisors - I'm sure the topics are very important and all, but they don't always tend to make the most arresting, visually interesting movies. Already I've been dozing off during these Elizabethan pictures, and they seem like some of the more interesting of the bunch, so I may be in trouble.
Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush carry over from "Elizabeth" -
THE PLOT: A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
AFTER: Ah, good, the Spanish Armada. Lots of intense naval battles, ships on fire, cannonballs - that kept me awake. Unfortunately, there was 90 minutes of talky movie to slog through before the opening salvo, so I admit I did doze off, and I had to rewind back a few times.
Once again, I'm trying to parse fact from fiction, and taking the opportunity to browse a bit of the history behind the film. I'm glad I didn't read too far into the story of Mary, Queen of Scots last night (Wikipedia, the ultimate historical spoiler alert). Again, religion plays a major factor, as the Catholic king of Spain (Philip II, Elizabeth's ex-brother-in-law) sought to take England from the protestant Queen Elizabeth. Meanwhile, the internal religious struggle in England was still going on - with Mary, Q.O.S. representing the Catholic interest in the throne, even though she had been deposed in Scotland in favor of her son, James, she seemed to be the focus of treasonous plots while imprisoned in England.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth was still entertaining offers of marriage from rulers of various countries, but seemed to have no interest in getting married - this film suggests that the reason for this was that she was a control freak, and perceived marriage as a male-dominated construct, in conflict with her duties in ruling England. And with any relationship, there are things out of one's control -
The major love interest here is Sir Walter Raleigh, recently returned from a trip to the New World, and he can't wait to get back there and establish a colony in the Queen's name. But Elizabeth becomes enamored with him, and refuses to let him leave. Yet, she keeps him at arm's length, unable to establish a physical connection, and settling for an emotional one.
All this, plus a love triangle or two, sets the stage for the Spanish Armada. (Finally! Cue the special effects!) Raleigh is front and center, which seems like a bit of a story convenience. Interesting fact about the armada - the English fleet had more ships, but the armada had more firepower. So the result was a bit up for grabs - wanna know who won? Look it up -
The naval battles were fine, but I found the internal religious strife hard to follow - lots of intricate plots, letters being written, and unfortunately none of that is very cinematic.
Also starring Clive Owen (last seen in "Derailed"), Samantha Morton (last seen in "Minority Report"), Abbie Cornish (last seen in "Sucker Punch"), Rhys Ifans (last seen in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"), Jordi Molla.
RATING: 6 out of 10 ruffled collars
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