Not another Historical Thriller movie

Elizabeth: The golden age
It is an Impressive movie about the protestant queen of England, Elizabeth I. She stands against king Phillip of Spain and his feverous Catholicism. The story illustrates the “Enterprise of England”, a plan engineered in order to assassinate the queen, bring Mary Stuart “Queen of Scots” into the throne, and therefore convert England into Catholicism.
Elizabeth is also known as the “Virgin Queen”, since she hasn’t married. For that reason, her majesty hasn’t conceived an heir. The film confirms her image as a powerful woman, vain and intelligent, mother of her country. However, virtuous Elizabeth I is shown in the movie as human as we are, when perhaps falling in love with a (as described in the movie) pirate, Sir Walter Raleigh, who ends up in one of her favourite wards’ arms. Anyway, as soon as Mary Stuart is beheaded for treason, Spain calls to a holy war. How will both countries end this war? Will god be on Spain’s side or protestant England?



I do personally wonder about a couple of things… Mary Stuart was the Queen of England’s cousin, why couldn’t they just get along? Obviously, very different and difficult times, back then, Elizabeth I was in great danger, her cousin wanted her crown, and if she didn’t keep her in prison, she might have called to a rebellion or something against her. And was there another reason for her to be called “Virgin Queen”? An affirmative answer is possible; perhaps Catholics didn’t like her to be virgin, because that way she would be compared, in virginity, to Mary, mother of god’s son. Moreover, in England protestants loved their Queen, and they might have seen her as a goddess, a Queen so powerful and caring but also pure. The reasons I believe she didn’t want to get married are pretty obvious for me, probably she just didn’t want to share the power of the crown, she felt probably that she didn’t want to ask for her husband’s opinion, or wind up like her mother did.




Changing the subject, I can’t help but thinking about her conflict with the King of Spain, it is important to underline that the king was taking over several countries, and it was a political decision in the aspect that Elizabeth I didn’t want to be managed by any King and his beliefs, also since she didn’t want him in her plans for discovering “The new world” which was America. Religiously, she had to stand up for England so that inquisition didn’t take over her protestant country. She is very clear on this, when she says: “… God don’t permit that it succeeds for that there will be no more liberty in England, or conscious, or thought. We cannot be defeated.”
Undoubtedly, an enjoyable film for its diverse conflicts: power, religion, wealth, love, treason and so on. Its interesting look on the unknown private life of Elizabeth I, speculations of the reasons she neither married nor cared for having a husband. Also how Protestants in England are shown in the good side and Catholics like some drastic and cruel people: Is that so?
I was impressed by the locations, the setting ,really adequately chosen, specially the sights of churches and castles, not mentioning the beautiful garments like the queen’s dresses and men’s clothing.
You should definitely go and rent it, you won’t regret!