My parents always told me I was born in the wrong century. Instead of watching cartoons when I was younger, I'd watch movies like Ever After, Pride & Prejudice and, my favorite, Elizabeth. Something about those time periods fascinated me: the romance, the extremity ... Maybe it was just the fact that it was so easy to be an extraordinary woman just by thinking and acting differently than those around you. Whatever the case, Queen Elizabeth was always my favorite character to watch and, that being said, I was always critical of any director's portrayal of her life. Shekar Kapur's Elizabeth -- The Golden Age, which premiered Oct. 12, is a magnificent, electrifyingly entertaining journey through the queen's later life complete with historical accuracy.
The Golden Age follows Kapur's earlier film, Elizabeth, which tells the story of the Queen's early life -- her exile, coronation and love affair with Robert Dudley, a childhood friend. It picks up a few years later with some of the same brilliant actors, and the imminent threat of the Spanish Inquisition. Sound like a history lesson? Cate Blanchett, who plays Elizabeth, Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh and Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham perform with such remarkable fluidity and grace that even the most historically tedious moments in the film are thrilling.
Queen Elizabeth has always been one of my role models. She's strong, volatile and above all, believes in something (England) so strongly she's willing to sacrifice her life for its progress. Through watching both of these movies I've come to realize that Cate Blanchett is absolutely perfect for this role. Not only does she capture Elizabeth's biting wit and ever-present pride, she manages to display how those characteristics aid in hiding her inner torment as a woman. One scene in The Golden Age is particularly powerful in this regard. Sir Walter Raleigh, ever ready to begin his journey back to the New World, goes to the queen once again ask her permission to embark. Elizabeth firmly tells him he cannot go because he is "needed" back in England, awkwardly knights him, then loses her nerve and pleads with him to stay. Just as the audience believes she's going to dispose of her callous exterior, she turns her back on him and emotionally commands him to stay behind for the sake of England. Scenes such as this one, abundant in the two films, make it clear that Elizabeth was not just a rogue queen who was "married" to her country, but a woman who sacrificed what she desired.
I realize I may not represent the majority when I express my fascination with Elizabeth and the time in which she lived. The Golden Age, however, has something for everyone. For women it contains inspiration for strength; for men, plenty of action during the Spanish attack on England's rocky shores; and for everyone, some superior historical intrigue and an awesome musical score. I do have one word of advice, though -- don't expect to leave the movie without the sudden aspiration to conquer the world.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
