Major Movie Role
The charter vessel Ocean Dancer has been involved
in many interesting expeditions and I was intrigued to hear about its
role in a major movie. In her role the vessel was used as a platform
for filming and whilst not seen in the movie it is yet another string
to her bow. Her skipper John relayed that the boat had been involved
in the making of the hit movie "Elizabeth", released in 2007,
a quick summary of which follows:
Director: Shekar Kapur
Writers: William Nicholson and Michael Hirst
Release Date: 2 November 2007
Genre: Drama | History | Romance
Plot: An exploration of the relationship between Elizabeth I
and the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh.
Synopsis: Two faiths, two empires,
two rulers - colliding in 1588. Papist Spain wants to bring down the
heretic Elizabeth. Philip is building an armada but needs a rationale
to attack. With covert intrigue, Spain sets a trap for the Queen and
her principal secretary, Walsingham, using as a pawn Elizabeth's cousin
Mary Stuart, who's under house arrest in the North. The trap springs,
and the armada sets sail, to rendezvous with French ground forces and
to attack. During these months, the Virgin Queen falls in love with
Walter Raleigh, keeping him close to court and away from the sea and
America. Is treachery or heroism at his heart? Does loneliness await
her passionate majesty?
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The movie "Elizabeth - The Golden Age"
is not my preferred choice of movie and I cannot therefore comment on
the movie. That is not to say however that it is not a fine movie, I
feel it only fair to give you an unbiased movie review and hereby present
one given by Wendy Ide representing "The Times" November 1,
2007.
Review
Pomp and pageantry fill every corner of every
shot; pennants dance, lances rattle and soldiers creak in their newly
forged armour. Each scene in Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age
is taut with high drama, every moment another condensed historical highlight.
And at the centre of it all, magnificent in her opulent gowns and regal
even in her vanity, is Queen Elizabeth I, the role reprised impressively
by Cate Blanchett. Gone is the gauche young woman who clattered unsteadily
into court like a foal. In her place is a formidable stateswoman. But
there is a chink in the armour of this warrior queen – like every woman
who took her beauty for granted, she’s beginning to realise that other,
younger, girls outshine her. She eyes Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) appreciatively,
but his attentions are elsewhere.
Blanchett at her best is a force of nature,
and here she’s superb. You can’t take your eyes off her face, which
is no small achievement given the outlandish lavishness of some of her
costumes. Her searing delivery of a rousing prebattle speech brilliantly
evokes a monarch who realises she has to be both king and queen for
her people. Blanchett’s dominance of the film comes at a cost. Owen’s
Raleigh lacks depth and Abbie Cornish is rather anaemic as Elizabeth
Throckmorton, Raleigh’s lover.
Kapur’s film is visually arresting, each frame
a work of art in miniature. But there is something rather breathless
about the storytelling. It’s a headlong dash through history that could
have benefited from an occasional opportunity for contemplation. Nowhere
is this more apparent than when Samantha Morton is on screen. Her Mary
Queen of Scots is magnificent, but an all too brief part of the picture.
This is a film that could have benefited from being at least 40 minutes
longer.
Certificate 12A, 114mins.
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