Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

This is an excellent movie with a great cast that does an superb job of dramatically portraying actual events while maintaining its historical integrity. Elizabeth details the Queen of England's trials in the second half of the 16th century; specifically her struggle to maintain England's religious independence and the imminent confrontation with King Phillip and the Spanish Armada. This movie is so well done that it is hard to believe that minute conversations and unconfirmable details did not come from some 16th century English diary. Kate Blanchet and Clive Owen are magic on screen. This is yet another movie that does an incredible job of displaying Blanchet's acting chops. I was nervous, having seen HBO's Elizabeth, that I would find her hard to swallow as the Queen after Helen Mirren did such an amazing job. My fears were unwarranted; this film adds additional weight to my contention that Kate Blanchet is the best actress of her generation. Another favorite of mine, Clive Owen, plays Sir Walter Raleigh, and he does so quite admirably. I admit that I was disappointed when Owen was not tapped for the new James Bond, but in retrospect, he would likely not have had the opportunity to make movies like this had he taken on 007, and I think we are better off for it. He always delivers great performances, but Clive Owen's best feature is that amazingly powerful voice that effortlessly commands the screen. They could not have cast two actors with better chemistry than Blanchet and Owen; they are amazing together on screen. I take two issues with this film. The first is that it does step on the toes of the HBO production Elizabeth, which was amazing. The Golden Age basically chronicles the same events as the last two hours of the HBO film, but if you really like these types of films, this should not be a problem for you. The second is minor, but I found it annoying. Towards the finale, there is a scene showing Clive Owen swimming in the ocean with his eyes open. Unless the producers know something about Sir Walter Raleigh that I do not, I cannot imagine that he would have been able to swim with his eyes open so painlessly through saltwater. It is really not that big of a deal, but I found it distracting. I feel that Blanchet and Elizabeth: The Golden Age do an amazing job of portraying the Queen's humanity, and bringing to light how difficult it was for a woman to be Queen in a world controlled by men 'anointed by God'. The portrayal of Elizabeth's struggle to maintain England's religious identity is also very interesting, and to all accounts, very accurate. My wife loved this film, and while I imagine it has a greater appeal for women than it does for most men, I would recommend it to anyone. I really like this movie; I give Elizabeth: The Golden Age 3 and a half stars.