Now, I had to watch this movie for a research paper. My teacher had us pick a movie. We did a film review on it and then our research paper's subject was about the idea behind the movie. My review was as follows:
The year is 1585. Philip, king of Spain, has the most powerful empire in the world. Being a strong Catholic, he forces Europe into a holy war, destroying all religions except his own. Only one stands in his way to victory: Queen Elizabeth I, the Protestant ruler of England. In Elizabeth: The Golden Age, we see the struggles and hardships that the queen must face, ranging from the Spanish Armada to as simple as finding a man fit to be her king. Although most empires had decided to imprison their Catholics in hopes that the Catholics will not turn against them, Queen Elizabeth refuses to do the same. In England, all religions are tolerable, and no one can be imprisoned without first doing wrong. The queen’s advisors push her to marry, bringing in suitors from around the country. While choosing the suitor she wants to pay a visit to, Queen Elizabeth is interrupted by Sir Walter Raleigh, a seaman and a pirate who has come back from the New World bearing gifts. Elizabeth and her first lady, Bess, are intrigued by the man who claim land for the queen, calling it Virginia in her honor. As Elizabeth picks out suitors, Philip of Spain has his forests cut down to be built into a great fleet, the unbeatable Spanish Armada. One of his men is sent to England, in hopes that he can get rid of Elizabeth to make room for the next queen in line, Mary Stuart. The man corresponds with Mary and waits for the order so that the assassination plan can proceed. It is given, and the man has one of his henchmen go to kill the queen. The plan is destroyed, however, and Mary Stuart is beheaded for treason to the queen. After this act, however, Philip of Spain initiates his plan to conquer England. According to Philip, Elizabeth had just killed God’s chosen queen, calling Mary a sweet, Catholic woman when she was anything but. The fighting against Spain begins, and Queen Elizabeth prepares to fight with her people at her side. And through all this, Elizabeth fights for Sir Walter Raleigh’s love when his heart is already taken by someone close to Elizabeth, someone whom she trusts and favors beyond anyone else. Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a very action-packed movie, with a force that can often overwhelm you. The scenes are very real and often make you feel as if you are sitting right by the characters, feeling their pain and doubt. The music helps set the mood and intensifies the scenes, making them clearer to understand. The story line itself is spectacular. It forces us to realize just how gruesome and deceitful the 1500s were. There was treason, beheadings, war, assassinations, fear, and struggles beyond anyone’s control. The people of the world were just along for the ride and tried their hardest to find peace and happiness. Some of the scenes in the movie felt out of place. It would often go from Elizabeth dealing with the upcoming war to somewhere off in the country where a man was being killed by an unidentified man for so-called treason. In these scenes, the film often lost me, and it would not be until they would switch the scenes to Philip or Elizabeth that I would understand once again. I still do not understand the reasoning for putting these scenes in at such random times and do not like the fact that they ruined a perfectly good movie with these horrid scenes. The characters in the film are put together very well. The actors play their parts skillfully. I really admire Cate Blanchett, who played Elizabeth, and Clive Owen, who dramatically plays Sir Walter Raleigh. For this movie, Elizabeth is a strong, courageous woman who puts her country before herself. She is always striving to be the best queen for all of her people, not just a certain few. Elizabeth also did not like violence as long as she could help it, but, when provoked, was the most formidable person on the battlefield, and Cate acted out the part stupendously. For Raleigh, however, the character had to be charming and sure of himself, which Clive played to perfection. He is smart, riveting, handsome, and knew what his plan of actions were to be. This, I think, is what gets him in with the queen and her first lady, Miss Bess, who is acted out by Abbie Cornish. Abbie’s character is very coy and pretty, always a follower and listener to the queen. As a namesake of the queen, she is expected to abide by the queen’s orders and be a great woman such as Elizabeth. But with Raleigh’s help, she learns to stand away from Queen Elizabeth’s shadow and make her own decisions. I like the portrayal of Philip of Spain as well, who is acted out by Jordi Molla. Jordi has a character that always spoke of hatred and power, who craves to be the leader of it all, while the whole time saying he is doing God’s bidding. Jordi put this character on well, making him even better by making him scary and feeding off of bloodshed and war. These characters are what make the movie seem so real. This movie, overall, was one of the best I have seen of war movies. It tells the story of the greatest queen of the age, who helps bring about a time of peace and prosperity through her courage and strength. It helps depict the war against hatred of certain religions and shows that you can be tolerant of them all. This movie starts with hatred and the promise of war between Spain and England. In the end, you feel peace and happiness.
