Elizabeth
In the spirit of posting something non-Harry Potter related, I went to see Elizabeth last night...(don't read if you haven't yet seen the movie and think you might like to)
And as good as I thought Cate Blanchett was in it, I found the movie itself strangely unsatisfying. I don't know enough about Elizabeth to know what was Hollywood's machinations and what was historically accurate, but when I left the movie, I said to my sister, "I liked it, but now I feel like I need to go watch an A&E Biography on Elizabeth to separate fact from fiction." She agreed with me. The big, swelling orchestra movements interspersed all throughout the movie (the ones that were supposed to let the audience know we were now watching a very emotiona, gripping scene) were a little distracting as well. I thought they did a good job of trying to show Elizabeth's vulnerability as a human being, especially in portraying some of her insecurities and her loneliness. She was also clever and pragmatic. The scene between her and the Prince of Austria (I think it was Austria) was quite amusing. (At least I thought so, though I was one of the only people in the theater laughing). The one thing that was missing for me was that they didn't show much of her strength as a leader. The director spent so much time showing us her fear that there wasn't enough time left over to show us her courage. At least not the way I would have expected. At any rate, I thought it was good enough. Not spectacular, but credible.
And as good as I thought Cate Blanchett was in it, I found the movie itself strangely unsatisfying. I don't know enough about Elizabeth to know what was Hollywood's machinations and what was historically accurate, but when I left the movie, I said to my sister, "I liked it, but now I feel like I need to go watch an A&E Biography on Elizabeth to separate fact from fiction." She agreed with me. The big, swelling orchestra movements interspersed all throughout the movie (the ones that were supposed to let the audience know we were now watching a very emotiona, gripping scene) were a little distracting as well. I thought they did a good job of trying to show Elizabeth's vulnerability as a human being, especially in portraying some of her insecurities and her loneliness. She was also clever and pragmatic. The scene between her and the Prince of Austria (I think it was Austria) was quite amusing. (At least I thought so, though I was one of the only people in the theater laughing). The one thing that was missing for me was that they didn't show much of her strength as a leader. The director spent so much time showing us her fear that there wasn't enough time left over to show us her courage. At least not the way I would have expected. At any rate, I thought it was good enough. Not spectacular, but credible.