Elizabeth
Directed
by Shekhar Kapur
Written
by Michael Hirst
Starring
Cate Blanchett, Geoffery Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joesph Finnes, John
Gielgud, and Richard Attenburough
120
minutes. Rated R. Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1. 1998
It’s easy to see why Elizabeth was nominated for best picture. It
has all those “best picture” qualities; that is, an impressive cast, elaborate
sets and costumes, and a historical context. This is not to say that Elizabeth
was not worthy of it’s nomination. It was. But it was the sheer power of
the film, not it’s epic sweep, that made it a great motion picture.
Cate
Blanchett, whom I had never heard of before this film began getting a lot
of attention, is surprisingly effective in the title role. She plays Elizabeth
at first like any other girl her age, but as time goes by and the weight
of England continues to press down on her, she becomes colder and harder,
resulting in the final transformation at the film’s conclusion that is
simply shocking, even being expected as it was (having seen the trailers).
The camerawork
here is especially impressive. The camera almost never stops moving at
the start of the film, letting the viewer experience, in a way, the unsteadiness
and turmoil that Elizabeth is going through. This is especially effective
in her interrogation scene, with the continually moving camera and the
multiple cuts, including a slowly rotating shot from above looking straight
down on the actors. Another shot from above, one even more powerful than
the one previously mentioned, comes in the film’s opening sequence, where
three Protestant “heretics” are burned at the stake. The final shot of
that
sequence in particular is
brutal and shocking. It too is from above looking straight down, as the
fire roars (I would have loved to hear that in Dolby 5.1 surround!) and
consumes the condemned. Very powerful, and a jarring entrance to the film.
Multiple cuts build tension elsewhere in the film as well, especially in
one of the final sequences, one that bears a strong resemblance to the
baptism sequence in the first Godfather film (indeed, the entire
film has a Godfather-esque feel), where political assassinations
are carried out at the Queen’s command. Immediately prior to that sequence,
in fact, is a particularly powerful flashback sequence of events of the
entire film that makes the viewer blink.
This is a film I wish had been longer. As I said, it does have a very epic,
operatic, sweeping feel to it, and I almost feel two hours wasn’t enough.
This captivating story could have taken four hours to tell, and I would
still have been mesmerized. The sheer power of Blanchett’s performance
and the talent with which the director deftly operates the camera simply
sucks you into this film and doesn’t let you go until the end credits roll.
Now,
I already said that it was worthy of it’s Best Picture nomination, as well
as it’s six others. But should it have won Best Picture, instead of Shakespeare
in Love? I don’t know. For one thing, I haven’t seen Shakespeare
yet. Also, I was more impressed with the power and the filmmaking of Saving
Private Ryan than I was with Elizabeth, but I can’t really make
a fair comparison, since I saw Ryan on the big screen, with surround
sound, in it’s widescreen splendor. I saw Elizabeth at home (I work
at Blockbuster and was able to snag a pre-release copy of it), in a chair,
with my pitiful speakers vainly trying to do justice to the sound effects
and the score (which, oddly enough, sometimes resembles the score to Brian
DePalma’s The Untouchables), with the sides of the picture cropped
off and my ill mother laying on the couch making glib comments (which she
feels a need to make during particularly powerful and gripping films; she
can’t deal with them otherwise). So a fair comparison is impossible.
But whether
or not Elizabeth should have won Best Picture, I think, is irrelevant
(and rather moot at this point). It is a brilliant, powerful, haunting
film that, as I said, stays with you for quite a while. I admit I wasn’t
really looking forward to seeing it, but I am so glad that I did. This
is one I’ll be buying on DVD, and watching again when I need to remind
myself just how great movies are made.
Bottom line: A simply mesmorizing film that could have been twice as long
and still been mesmorizing.
My grade:
A+
My advice:
See it in the best way you can, ie, on DVD, in surround sound, on a big
TV, with the shades drawn. That will do the epic quality of the film more
justice than I did.
Get the movie
poster!
