ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

ELIZABETH 1 is such a dream role that no actress seems able to resist. Bette Davis played the monarch in The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939) and The Virgin Queen (1955). Glenda Jackson offered her impersonation of the queen on television and film to be followed by Helen Mirren, Anne-Marie Duff and countless others.

Now Cate Blanchett resumes her much admired performance in Elizabeth – The Golden Age, a stirring, old-fashioned sequel to the Oscar-winning Elizabeth.

The new film is set in 1585 with Elizabeth a confident ruler of the land. The absence of an heir to the throne is considered her greatest liability. There appears to be an assembly line of suitors who are all too readily dismissed.

The greatest challenge to her reign lies with King Philip of Spain who would love to see the Protestant Elizabeth replaced by her Catholic cousin Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton).

Romantic complications arrive in the strapping shape of Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), a swashbuckling seafarer who dazzles her with tales of adventure and exploration and almost steals her heart.

Private affairs and global conspiracies collide when Spain declares a holy war on England and launches an Armada.

An intelligent, engaging historical epic that doesn’t let truth stand in the way of a good yarn, Elizabeth The Golden Age is smart, well-paced and clearly made on a modest budget.

Fans of the original will not be disappointed by a sequel that ponders the price of leadership and the sacrifices of a woman who always placed duty before personal happiness.

Blanchett is on majestic form creating a fully-rounded portrait of a monarch who was wise and witty, stalwart and loyal but also vulnerable enough to be very human. It is the kind of performance that should win an Oscar and the perfect illustration of why any actress worth her salt longs to play the Virgin Queen.

Director: Shekhat Kapur
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton, Rhys Ifans.
Screenwriters: WIlliam Nicholson, Michael Hirst
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 114 mins
Country: UK
Year: 2007

© Allan Hunter, 2007