Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Samantha Morton, Jordi Molla

Dir. Shekhar Kapur
Scr. William Nicholson & Michael Hirst

I have been trying to get motivated enough to write this review. My response to this film was “meh” – it’s hard to write about such indifference. But then I started to think about why the heck they even made this film and this angered me. Blanchett’s first Elizabeth outing in 1998 was fantastic cinema and was rewarded both critically and financially. This film is a clear attempt to cash in on that success. Unfortunately, folks, when you don’t have the script, you don’t have anything.

The Golden Age tries to focus on two elements of Elizabeth’s life and the history of England – the Spanish Armada and Sir Walter Raleigh. But this focus is muddied by a script that pulls the characters in several directions at once – the attempted assassination, the search for a husband, the persecution of the Catholics in England, the demise of Walsingham … and so on and so forth. Yes, perhaps these things were all going on at the same time (though historical accuracy is not this films strong point). But that’s no excuse for a script that constantly loses focus, that chooses to focus on something so uninteresting when so much of interest was occurring, that is simultaneously confusing and boring.

Okay, I’m not entirely sure about the nature or extent of Elizabeth’s relationship with Raleigh, but the love triangle that at times dominates this film is just rubbish. I can’t help but assume that the filmmakers completely sold out and thought “well, I guess we’ll need a love story because that’s how it’s done”. That’s not how it’s done at all! The love story is without motivation or credibility. It sullies the film. For goodness sake, there was an attempted invasion going on! And one that was so pivotal that it has entered our language and consciousness. But, no, instead we have to constantly watch a bronzed Raleigh try to seduce both the Queen and her lady-in-waiting (and who, by the way, I’m pretty sure was NOT the hero of the Armada as he is portrayed in this film).

The performances aren’t bad in The Golden Age. Blanchett is back – she has so made this role her own I can’t imagine another Elizabeth – and is fiery and strong and wonderful. Too bad the script doesn’t allow her many opportunities to soar. The scene in which she toys with and then soothes a young suitor is absolutely brilliant and nearly worth the price of admission. Owen, as Raleigh, is very good but his character is so clichéd and annoying that he has little to work with. Molla, as the Spanish King, is brilliantly mad. Rush (Walsingham) is perhaps the standout and his relationship with Elizabeth remains the most interesting (as it was in the first film) – sadly, his role is incredibly small and this is a great downfall of the film. I wanted more Elizabeth/Walsingham intrigue and less Elizabeth/Raleigh rubbish.

So, I wouldn’t recommend The Golden Age at all. I was bored and frustrated. I was annoyed at the obvious manipulation of history to make this movie more marketable which, in the end, was incredibly detrimental to my enjoyment of the film. I was appalled at a clichéd and wooden script. If you want to see wonderful costumes, grand halls and a multitude of wigs, watch the first Elizabeth movie (again, if you have to). But don’t waste your time and money on this one.

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Spanish Minister: There is a wind coming that will sweep away your pride.

Queen Elizabeth I: I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare if you dare to try me!