The quirky, left-of-center obsessions of my adolescence are varied and abnormally numerous. Among others, they included (rather, include) France, IKEA, Vespas and, chief among them, Elizabeth I. The Virgin Queen, Good Queen Bess, call her what you may -- she was an unexpected heroine of mine, and the focus of a fascination that should have been directed towards something like baseball, playing cards or learning what a carburetor is.
Needless to say, Elizabeth I's relatively high-profile presence in television and film over the past decade has been a better experience than eating ice cream past my bedtime on Christmas Eve. Cate Blanchett blossomed into a cinematic icon with the title role in 1998's "Elizabeth," earning an Oscar nomination and critical darling status in Hollywood. Judi Dench won an Oscar for portraying Her Majesty in "Shakespeare in Love," while the magnificent Dame Helen Mirren offered her illustrious take on the Virgin Queen in last year's "Elizabeth I" HBO miniseries. Blanchett returns for a second go in director the sequel, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," chronicling the later years of Elizabeth's glorious reign and England's famous defeat of the Spanish Armada.
The year is 1585 and Catholic Spain is planning to "rescue" England from the "godless, bastard" -- and Protestant -- Elizabeth, as detailed through opening subtitles that offer the audience an insultingly simplified history lesson. The film proceeds to recount the political and personal turmoil of the Queen (Blanchett) over the next few years, with the impending Spanish attack grounding the narrative. Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), the Queen's closest advisor, returns from the first film to advise Elizabeth on foreign policy and simultaneously uncover a planned attempt on her life by Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton), Elizabeth's Catholic cousin and heir to the throne. A series of humorous sequences portray the courtiers of the unmarried monarch, while Elizabeth's private life is dominated by a romantic subplot involving lady-in-waiting/confidante Bess (Abbie Cornish) and famed explorer/newfound favorite of the Queen, Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen).
While the finale is naturally predictable to anyone with a passing knowledge of European history, the screenplay offers enough twists and sufficient historical liberties to keep the plot interesting. Though occasionally devolving into a soap opera of Elizabethan proportions, the film clocks in comfortably at just under two hours and maintains a pleasant pace. However, Kapur seems to have lost the creative spark he exhibited with the original "Elizabeth;" the latter was fresh and epic, while "Golden Age" feels like a more conservative history lesson, punctuated with melodramatic romance and obtrusively accented with a decades-old soundtrack of medieval, monastic choirs and soaring strings.
Nevertheless, "Golden Age" is not technically lost. The cinematography is expectedly sweeping and epic but nonetheless impressive, with an interesting tendency to introduce locations by shooting from the ground upwards, exaggerating the immensity of each setting. And, as in most period pieces, the costuming is exquisite.
The only thing more radiant than the majestic castles, sweeping pastures and vibrant wardrobe is Cate Blanchett herself. In the end, she is what saves "Golden Age" from turning into "that movie" you sleep through -- er, watch -- in a high school history class. She owns the screen just as she did nine years ago, carrying herself like a revered headmistress and speaking with a deep, resonant voice that commands rather than shrewishly demands.
With merciless glares and purposeful glances, wrathful screams and intriguing murmurs, Blanchett seamlessly portrays the rage, pensive isolation and unrelenting heart of one of history's most absorbing figures. As Elizabeth cracks under the political and personal pressure of her current situation, we are reminded of the sturdy conscience that lies beneath the icy and formidable veneer that Blanchett so masterfully captures. "Woman. Warrior. Queen." reads the poster for "Golden Age," and it applies not just to Elizabeth, but to the actress depicting her as well.
Rush delivers an expectedly respectable performance. Philip II of Spain is written rather narrowly as a war-mongering, Catholic zealot, but Jordi Molla plays him with a captivating ferocity while Morton, with an entertaining Scottish brogue, is a standout in an otherwise average supporting cast. Owen, who has been a favorite of mine since last year's "Children of Men," was unrefined and utterly forgettable, a fate shared by Cornish's ordinary portrayal of Bess. I even found myself asking where Blanchett was when she was not on screen; in what were otherwise high-quality naval battle scenes in the film's climax, the Queen's unusual absence from the screen was quite noticeable.
In between decimating Spain's forests and kissing his crucifix as he orders the death of England's "bastard usurper," Philip makes sure to tell his daughter, Isabella, that Elizabeth is a "whore."
Despite its faults, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" reaffirms my adolescent idolatry of that whore -- thanks in large part to the resplendent vision that is Cate Blanchett. You can add her to my list of quirky obsessions as well: something tells me she'll be there for a long time to come.
