Dir. Shekhar Kapur
Kapur’s visually exciting political thriller sees a young Elizabeth Tudor (Cate Blanchett) elevated to the throne of a divided England on the death of her half-sister Mary I, who had imprisoned her. Elizabeth’s reign over the bankrupt realm is perceived as weak and under threat of invasion by France or Spain. For the future stability and security of the crown she is urged by adviser William Cecil (Richard Attenborough) to marry a foreign prince, but she prefers the company of the charming Lord Dudley (Joseph Fiennes). It’s a vivid recreation of Elizabethan England, intelligently written and with a star making turn from Australian Blanchett. Geoffrey Rush is the best of an interesting supporting cast as spymaster Francis Walsingham. Watch
