BEFORE: It's about time we had some classy films around here, with proper British monarchs and lords and stuff. Though just four days ago, I was watching "Hot Tub Time Machine", it's hard to believe. Linking from "Anastasia", John Cusack was also in "Pushing Tin" with Cate Blanchett (last seen in "Robin Hood"), which enables me to start the monarchy chain with Big Red herself, Elizabeth I.
THE PLOT: A film of the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
AFTER: Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown, and all that. Though, really, how sorry should I feel for a queen? Actually, this is a good opportunity to learn about Elizabeth's background, and determine just how tragic a figure she was.
Being the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, when her mother was executed she was declared illegitimate (neat trick, that) and deprived of the title of Princess. (So was her half-sister, Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon). Henry then had a son, Edward, with his wife, Jane Seymour, and Edward became king at age 9 after Henry VIII's death. However, he died at age 15, allowing Mary to become queen, and the interesting thing here is that she was Catholic - and if I remember right, Henry had something of a falling-out with the Catholic church, what with all those divorces and beheadings and such.
That's pretty much the backstory to where this film begins - and all this is great stuff for me to learn. Before this, I couldn't tell you the difference between Queen Mary I and Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary I is Queen at the start of this film, but she is both without child and ill with cancer. The implication was that her husband (and cousin, eww), Philip of Spain, didn't seem interested in having sex with her - so she was forced to recognized the very Protestant Elizabeth as the heir to the throne.
(ASIDE: I'm trying to recall the exact difference in theology between Catholicism and Protestantism - I think it's that whole transubstantiation thing, where the Catholics believe that bread + wine actually become the flesh and blood of Jesus, and the Protestants recognize it as a more symbolic thing. I was raised Catholic, but I think I now side with the Protestants on this one.)
Anyway, I wish the film had pointed out the exact nature of the theological differences, but then I think we might have realized how ridiculous all the religious fighting was. Instead we see a lot of people claiming that others are heretics, and heresy, of course, is defined as "any religious idea someone doesn't like". I've always been a little wary of the Anglican church, where the monarchs are also key figures in the religion. As an American, I'm more used to the (theoretical, anyway) separation of church and state, and I'm more comfortable in a country where people are free to practice any religion (except atheism, apparently...).
Once she ascends to the throne, Elizabeth has to deal with these religious differences, along with rivals to her monarchy (more on Mary, Queen of Scots later), marriage proposals from the kings of France and Spain, and assassination attempts. It's unthinkable these days, but just imagine the Pope saying that it's OK to kill the Queen of England to further the cause of Catholicism. Isn't there some kind of commandment against that? There's no disclaimer, like "Thou Shalt Not Kill, except Protestants are OK".
Regarding relationships, the film seemed to take a number of liberties with the specifics, but they got the gist of it right. Elizabeth had great affection for her childhood friend Robert Dudley, but he was already married. Still, she kept him close at hand while she fended off or considered (or at least pretended to consider) other offers. Negotiations always seemed to break down, though, or her intended would be outed as a transvestite or something (worse, he looked better in a dress than she did).
I don't see how she could have been known as "The Virgin Queen" if all the boffing shown in this film actually took place. There's no historical proof of this type of activity, so clearly it may have been added to spice up her story. So the film has to show her "re-virginizing" herself (wait, you can do that?) and re-establishing her focus on ruling the country alone.
That's it for now - I'll pick up Elizabeth's story again tomorrow night.
Also starring Joseph Fiennes (last seen in "The Darwin Awards"), Geoffrey Rush (last heard in "Green Lantern"), Christopher Eccleston, Richard Attenborough (last seen in "Miracle on 34th Street"), Emily Mortimer (last heard in "Cars 2"), with cameos from Vincent Cassel (last seen in "Derailed"), John Gielgud (last seen in "First Knight").
RATING: 6 out of 10 handmaidens
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