The 16th century was not a time of government leak cases, inappropriate relations between presidents and interns or wars based solely on contrasting religious beliefs. Oh, wait – it was exactly like that, except with cooler outfits.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a sequel to the 1998 film Elizabeth, which portrayed the Queen of England’s early years. This Golden Age follows the endeavors of the middle-aged Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal) during the pinnacle of Protestant England’s conflict with Catholic Spain and the attempt on the Queen’s life by her cousin, Mary Stuart, better known as Mary, Queen of Scots.

As you can imagine, all that Elizabethan drama calls for a sometimes-confusing plot. But boy, is it pretty; eye-catching cinematography, amazing couture costumes and more make the film a visual extravaganza.

The film starts out in Spain, with King Philip II (Jordi Mollà, The Alamo) plotting the next step in his holy war against England. His historic naval fleet is just beginning to be built; with the impressive graphics and startlingly realistic settings to back him up, Molla manages to steal the spotlight and perfectly pulls off the truly crazed persona of a monarch with way too much power.

Meanwhile, Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton, Mister Lonely) – who has been imprisoned by Elizabeth for years – is also planning the demise of the English monarch. Mary’s backstory is not fully explored in the film (probably because too much time is spent with overly dramatic circling camera shots of Queen Elizabeth in her intricate and brightly colored dresses), but Golden Age does hammer home that Mary was devoutly Catholic and wanted to bring England back under Catholic rule.

From prison, Mary sends a series of letters to King Philip planning Elizabeth’s assassination – but instead, Mary herself is subsequently executed at Elizabeth’s order. Although Mary is killed at Elizabeth’s request, Elizabeth is dismayed by the turn of the events – one of the only scenes in Golden Age that displays the Queen’s real emotions, rather than her quippy dialogue that tries too hard to bring a modern flair to the film.

But during all the drama involving Spain’s threats and Mary’s plots, Elizabeth is still more concerned with other courtly duties and being sarcastic (bordering on bitter) toward men – she did, after all, remain “The Virgin Queen” throughout her reign. So when she meets the adventurous and strapping Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen, Shoot ‘Em Up), an explorer who named his colony Virginia after the “Virgin Queen,” she is enticed by his worldliness and makes him her head of security to keep him around.

The two soon start a frustrating relationship, which is equally tiring for viewers, as Elizabeth and Raleigh can never truly be together, as she is “married to her country” and all. So instead, Raleigh sleeps with Elizabeth’s highest-ranking courtly lady, Elizabeth Throckmorton (Abbie Cornish, A Good Year) who, of course, becomes pregnant. Whoops.

Blanchett’s knack for powerful displays of emotion shines through here, as the normally composed Queen goes off the deep end and allows frustration, jealousy and heartache to shine through her carefully constructed, calm exterior. Things get even more complicated for Elizabeth, however, when word comes that Spanish fleets are off the coast.

This is perhaps the biggest hitch of the entire film, as Golden Age builds up to a battle scene so short that it hardly encapsulates its historical importance. The scene, plopped awkwardly in the last minutes of the movie, is more about Elizabeth’s speech to the front lines in her shiny armor than the actual fighting involved.

Although the film is incredibly visually stimulating, sometimes less is more, an idea Golden Age fails to grasp. The film relies too much at points on visual contrast to symbolize archetypal points, such as King Philip’s crazed speech to his fleets right before the battle begins. We hear his proclamation that Elizabeth is darkness and he is light, while the camera circles around Elizabeth, who – in contrast to Philip’s placement in a dark, dimly lit room – is dressed in an angelic white dress and bathed in sunlight. The result is a not-so-subtle and even laughable moment that insults the audience’s ability to interpret symbolism.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age, while a regal visual masterpiece that humanizes some of the historical figures of the time, lacks character development and tries too hard to portray its themes through visual means rather than well-constructed dialogue. While a somewhat satisfying follow-up to its precursor, Elizabeth, in a match against the two, Golden Age only takes the silver.

cpomeroy@umd.edu