Reviews of Elizabeth

Elizabeth

Posted : 3 months, 1 week ago on 1 July 2008 03:08 (A review of Elizabeth)

Cate Blanchett plays Queen Elizabeth I in a fresh, modern way that commands your attention and should have won her an Oscar. For some odd reason Gwyneth Paltrow won it for a lesser performance in Shakespeare In Love. Shekhar Kapur reinvents the historical drama with his visual imaginations -- the film looks like Indian tapestries and English history got merged together -- and casting choices -- Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Kathy Burke, Joseph Fiennes, and Fanny Ardent all in a stuffy historical drama? Perish the thought. Luckily, this isn't a stuffy historical drama. Elizabeth feels modern as a person. She's not quite the strong and regal monarch we all know from the paintings and stories, but she's on her way to becoming that icon throughout this film. The amount of court intrigue, political maneuvering, back-stabbing, and violence makes this feel like a 15th century Scorsese film, and that's a good thing.

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Excellent historical drama

Posted : 8 months, 3 weeks ago on 22 January 2008 01:42 (A review of Elizabeth)

Elizabeth is one of my all-time favorite films. It has everything a historical drama lover could ask for. Love, betrayal, corruption and beautiful costumes.

Cate Blanchett won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an oscar for her performance as Elizabeth and rightly so. She was very convincing as the young queen who must be powerful and strong on the outside but feels unsure of herself and weak at times behind closed doors.

Geoffrey Rush, of course, was fantastic as Sir Francis Walsingham. I haven't seen a Geoffrey Rush performance, yet, that hasn't been above par. Also, Joseph Fiennes was perfect as the handsome and charming Lord Dudley who may or may not be after crown himself.

Overall, despite some factual flaws, a beautiful film worthy of a spot on my DVD shelf. Bravo!

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