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Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Oct. 15th, 2007 10:35 amI mentioned in yesterday's entry that I planned to catch a matinee of Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The movie has gotten some mixed reviews, mostly as being overly melodramatic, but I enjoyed it.
Part of the problem is that the era in question, the events leading up to the dispatch of the Spanish Armada, is inherently melodramatic. The Armada was the largest invasion fleet in the Channel until 1944. There, the D-Day armada was going the other way. England has faced the risk of invasion three times; 1066 (England lost) 1588 (England's army was heavily outnumbered) and 1940 (England's army was a wreck.) In short, this was a serious time.
In my opinion, the moviemakers kept the melodrama on a fairly short leash until the last ten minutes, but I personally was willing to excuse it. The movie, like the previous in series, Elizabeth there was a lot of "textile porn," but again, that's historically accurate. It's probably not fair to have the 38-year-old Cate Blanchett play a 55-year-old Elizabeth, but Cate's established herself as the modern interpreter of Good Queen Bess. Overall, a very enjoyable movie.
ETA: This being a period movie, there are a couple of period interrogations, AKA torture. It's not excessively violent, but there is some blood and gore.
Part of the problem is that the era in question, the events leading up to the dispatch of the Spanish Armada, is inherently melodramatic. The Armada was the largest invasion fleet in the Channel until 1944. There, the D-Day armada was going the other way. England has faced the risk of invasion three times; 1066 (England lost) 1588 (England's army was heavily outnumbered) and 1940 (England's army was a wreck.) In short, this was a serious time.
In my opinion, the moviemakers kept the melodrama on a fairly short leash until the last ten minutes, but I personally was willing to excuse it. The movie, like the previous in series, Elizabeth there was a lot of "textile porn," but again, that's historically accurate. It's probably not fair to have the 38-year-old Cate Blanchett play a 55-year-old Elizabeth, but Cate's established herself as the modern interpreter of Good Queen Bess. Overall, a very enjoyable movie.
ETA: This being a period movie, there are a couple of period interrogations, AKA torture. It's not excessively violent, but there is some blood and gore.
