Elizabeth: The Golden Age
DIR: Shekhar Kapur • WRI: William Nicholson, Michael Hirst  • PROD: Tim Bevan, Jonathan Cavendish, Eric Fellner • DOP: Remi Adefarasin  • ED: Jill Bilcock• DES: Guy Dyas • CAST: Jordi Mollà, Aimee King, Cate Blanchett, John Shrapnel, Geoffrey Rush, Susan Lynch, Elise McCave, Samantha Morton, Abbie Cornish, Penelope McGhie, Rhys Ifans, Eddie Redmayne, Stuart McLoughlin, Clive Owen, Adrian Scarborough

It seems highly unlikely that anyone came out of Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth in 1998 feeling as if they really needed a sequel. A lean, gritty historical drama, it told the story of how Elizabeth became the so called Virgin Queen of the history books, and ended with Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth taking her throne, ushering in the Golden Age of England and coming to a comfortable closing point. Nonetheless, hers is an interesting life that’s worth exploring, and so this belated sequel picks up where the last film left off.

Beginning in 1585, Shekhar Kapur's film attempts to deal with both the personal and political life of Elizabeth. It's no easy task to try and paint a personal story against an epic canvas, but Kapur succeeds considerably. On the one hand, Elizabeth has the slight problem of the Spanish Armada to deal with, not to mention an assassination attempt on her life. On a personal level, meanwhile, her royal biological clock is ticking, and she finds herself drawn to Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), as he returns from the New World with potatoes and tobacco.

For all the grand political intrigue, the soap opera that surrounds the main characters is far more fascinating. Interested in Raleigh, Elizabeth uses her favourite lady-in-waiting (an excellent Abbie Cornish) to find out more about him. Trouble is, he’s more smitten with Bess than the Queen, and so an unlikely love triangle develops. Blanchett, returning to the role that made her famous, is as magnetic as ever. Far from the naive young woman we are presented with at the start of the first film, Elizabeth is now confident in her position as an icon, firm in her handling of state affairs and crafty enough to allow Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush, clearly enjoying himself) free reign on her enemies. The first half of the film in particular is a far cry from its predecessor – there is a lively, comic feel to the early scenes with Elizabeth, Raleigh and Bess, while the production design is lush and elaborate where once it was grim and dirty. Visually, it's a very deliberate move from the first's gritty realism, all bright colours and lavish sets. Golden Age is very much an appropriate term here.

However, two things in particular grate about <I>Elizabeth:The Golden Age<I>. The first is the film's two-dimensional portrayal of the Catholic Church. As in the first film, the Vatican is presented more as an evil cult, complete with blood red imagery and murder. Rhys Ifans (in a rare, scary dramatic role) acts as a hitman for the pope, in scenes that would make Dan Brown cringe. The second problem is the astonishing extent to which the film plays fast and loose with historical fact. Sometimes it's easier to ignore than others – the scenes with Elizabeth suitors provide welcome bursts of humour, even though Elizabeth was actually in her 50s when the film is set and an unlikely romantic target for those seeking an heir. Too often entire stretches of the story are fabricated – Walter Raleigh’s role in the Spanish Armada, and the re-imagining of the Babington Plot are but two instances of liberties taken. Kapur has said that all history is interpretation, and he may have a point – the version of events we are presented with here is certainly an entertaining one, and it serves the themes and characters of the story well. When the battle scenes finally arrive, they too are beautifully filmed, even though the swashbuckling scenes featuring Raleigh against the Spanish ships almost certainly never took place. Nonetheless, it’s hard not to feel a little cheated by the constant diversions from reality.

Those in search of a history lesson would be advised to give Elizabeth II – sorry, The Golden Age – a wide berth. However, as an entertaining period drama, Oscars have been handed to worse films, and it’s funny, fast-paced take on history will no doubt prove a welcome antidote to the po-faced dramas we’ll be faced with in the Winter months to come. Roll on part three.

Scott Townsend
(Read biog here)

Rated 12A (see IFCO website for details)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age is released on 2nd November 2007
Elizabeth: The Golden Age – Official website
See interview with the director here