Last Tuesday on the 24th February our class watched a movie on Elizabeth: The Golden Age. This is our first movie to watch for this semester for the Drama subject. Cate Blanchett acted for the role of the Virgin Queen in this Shekhar Kapur-directed sequel to that film. Focusing on the queen's tempestuous relationship with the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh, the film also stars Clive Owen (as Raleigh), Geoffrey Rush (as Sir Francis Walsingham) and Samantha Morton (as Mary, Queen of Scots).
I was excited about seeing this film. After watching it, did I like the movie? To be honest, it’s not my taste. It was kind of dull. Whether it’s the way it should be, I am not sure but for me it was boring. The acting was great, but it was almost too boring to watch. Everything was so predictable. When queen tells Bess to talk to Raleigh because the queen likes him, I knew Bess and Raleigh will fall for each other. I feel that Cate Blanchett is not an interesting character. I was thinking maybe Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton) would be more suitable for the role. I am an action movie freak but then I do watch this kind of movies but this movie didn’t capture me. The only thing that captured me was the clothing and the big beautiful castle.
What is the role of Raleigh? At first I thought he was going to marry the queen till the queen asked Bess to talk to him. Raleigh's presence distracts the queen but she never takes any action. Well just once she asked him to stay when he wanted to leave. The queen’s genuine preoccupation are the Catholic threats posed by her cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), under castle arrest in Scotland, and by her former brother-in-law, King Philip II of Spain (Jordi Molla). The queen is also quite taken with astrology, and regularly demands of her resident expert (an amusing David Threlfall) more specific reassurances about the outcomes of events than he is able to provide. Overall, the movie takes a small-minded view of history and, in its rush to proceed from one tumultuous event to the next, lacks any sense of occasion relative to the significant pageant it attempts to depict. There's no view of Elizabeth other than that she was a human being, too, but that is hardly enough.
I remember the queen’s last line. ‘I am myself.’ What is she trying to say? She can lead the country just by herself or not get married I guess. Anyway they acted well, that I can’t deny but it could have been more interesting.
I was excited about seeing this film. After watching it, did I like the movie? To be honest, it’s not my taste. It was kind of dull. Whether it’s the way it should be, I am not sure but for me it was boring. The acting was great, but it was almost too boring to watch. Everything was so predictable. When queen tells Bess to talk to Raleigh because the queen likes him, I knew Bess and Raleigh will fall for each other. I feel that Cate Blanchett is not an interesting character. I was thinking maybe Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton) would be more suitable for the role. I am an action movie freak but then I do watch this kind of movies but this movie didn’t capture me. The only thing that captured me was the clothing and the big beautiful castle.
What is the role of Raleigh? At first I thought he was going to marry the queen till the queen asked Bess to talk to him. Raleigh's presence distracts the queen but she never takes any action. Well just once she asked him to stay when he wanted to leave. The queen’s genuine preoccupation are the Catholic threats posed by her cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), under castle arrest in Scotland, and by her former brother-in-law, King Philip II of Spain (Jordi Molla). The queen is also quite taken with astrology, and regularly demands of her resident expert (an amusing David Threlfall) more specific reassurances about the outcomes of events than he is able to provide. Overall, the movie takes a small-minded view of history and, in its rush to proceed from one tumultuous event to the next, lacks any sense of occasion relative to the significant pageant it attempts to depict. There's no view of Elizabeth other than that she was a human being, too, but that is hardly enough.
I remember the queen’s last line. ‘I am myself.’ What is she trying to say? She can lead the country just by herself or not get married I guess. Anyway they acted well, that I can’t deny but it could have been more interesting.
i think she said like that because even though people have bad impression on her, she is the one who knows how she is actually. people just can judge...she just be herself and that is one of the reason why she can lead the country even she is not married and alone...
ReplyDeleteit's just my opinion...but i agree with you..she acted so well and the movie is interesting..=)
Can't be more interesting though. It is a historical movie. Therefore, to be a good historical movie, they have to follow, well... the history of Queen Elizabeth. I agree with you that the acting was good. However, I disagree about the movie being not interesting. In my opinion, it is one of the best of its genre, (Not better than Downfall though), all from the acting, the flow of the story to the script itself. I do enjoy the movie. It is a matter of perspective though. Personally, I think Raleigh's role is to show the audience that humans, even if you are as great as Elizabeth herself, are vulnerable to lust and desire.
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