Trailer: The Golden Age
Movie Stills: (moviefone.com)
IGN Review: Stax
Subtlety is hard to find in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The film's
bodice-ripping passion is the stuff of romance novels featuring
Fabio on the cover, and the film's political subtext is far too on
the nose for its own good. (Even the score is over-the-top at
times.) It is not reading too much into the film to see Philip II
as a substitute for George W. Bush, portrayed by Molla as an
awkward zealot whose piety fuels his policy to wage war on whomever
he perceives as a threat.
On the other hand, the Catholics of this film are almost a stand-in
for Muslims -- but, unlike Philip II, Elizabeth refuses to trample
the rights of her subjects whose religion happens to be the same as
her enemies -- while the Jesuit assassins operate like a terrorist
cell. The film goes out of its way to make its metaphors
transparent, as if screaming, "This isn't some period movie! This
is really about today!"
The Spaniards here are reminiscent of both the Klingons as
portrayed in the original Star Trek series (swarthy war-mongering
charlatans), as well as Mexican bandidos in any number of spaghetti
westerns. There's one scene where the Spanish ambassador
practically snarls, "We don't need no stinkin' badges!" With his
mumbled speech and deformed legs, Molla's Phillip II is a monstrous
caricature, a cross between John Leguizamo in Moulin Rouge! and a
Chris Kattan sketch character.
And yet despite these shortcomings, the breathlessly-paced film
yanks you into its soap opera narrative and the three leads keep
you invested in their characters. The innuendo-laced comic repartee
between Blanchett and Owen ignites more than a few sparks, while
Cornish and Blanchett create a tender, sisterly bond between the
two Elizabeths. Blanchett even gets to deliver a rousing St.
Crispin's Day-style speech while garbed in shining armor. There is
some truly gorgeous cinematography, production design and art
direction to be found, along with the grandest CG-enhanced sea
battle this side of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. So if you
like your history lessons loud and garish, bombastic and bloody,
then Elizabeth: The Golden Age is for you.
