A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.
This film details the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, as played by Cate Blanchett. The main focus is the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the Catholic hatred of her and her romance with Lord Robert Dudley.Written by
CharmedGirl47
1998 was the only year that two performers were nominated for Academy Awards for playing the same character in two different movies: Dame Judi Dench was nominated (and won) for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress for portraying Elizabeth I in this movie. Joseph Fiennes appeared in both movies as well. See more »
Goofs
While it's true that Henri, Duke of Anjou (later King Henri III) was generally obsessed with clothing and did on occasion dress as a woman, he never actually traveled to England to court the Queen. That honour fell instead to his younger brother François, who became Duke of Anjou in 1576, and was the only one of Elizabeth's many suitors to court her in person. See more »
Anyone who is looking for an historically accurate representation of the early years of Elizabeth 1's reign had best pass this one by. As far as this type of drama is concerned it has some superficial charm in respect to location, costumes and casting but the hideous distortions of fact are so blatant and so pervasive that the film becomes almost satirical. William Cecil cast as an ancient white-bearded dotard for example - Cecil was actually a mere 38 years old during the period portrayed. Why Hollywood feels obliged to revise history so often (shades of 'Braveheart' and 'The Patriot') is a mystery. Usually the real history is far more dramatic than anything the Hollywood hacks can dream up. Probably the only character who was reasonably treated in this particular film was Geoffrey Rush's Walsingham.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Anyone who is looking for an historically accurate representation of the early years of Elizabeth 1's reign had best pass this one by. As far as this type of drama is concerned it has some superficial charm in respect to location, costumes and casting but the hideous distortions of fact are so blatant and so pervasive that the film becomes almost satirical. William Cecil cast as an ancient white-bearded dotard for example - Cecil was actually a mere 38 years old during the period portrayed. Why Hollywood feels obliged to revise history so often (shades of 'Braveheart' and 'The Patriot') is a mystery. Usually the real history is far more dramatic than anything the Hollywood hacks can dream up. Probably the only character who was reasonably treated in this particular film was Geoffrey Rush's Walsingham.