There are a lot of problems with Elizabeth (1998), and I do not necessarily mean the title ruler of England (Cate Blanchett).  My knowledge of these issues began when I was at Loyola University Chicago.  While there, I took a course on Early Modern London with one of my favorite professors.  He was the first to alert me to the inaccuracies of the film.  As I have grown in the Faith, I have noted others.  The sixteenth century was a difficult time for Catholics in England, and they did not get much better until well into the nineteenth century.  It was Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII (not pictured) who started all the trouble when he wanted to marry her mother, Anne Boelyn (not pictured).  When the Church would not grant him the divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, he divorced himself from Rome.  Doing so initiated a century of direct conflict, and a few more of indirect ones, between Catholics and protestants in England and its burgeoning empire.  There were heroes and villains on both sides, but the movie needs a villain, so those behind the camera made Catholicism fill that role.  That is problematic, and that is without even mentioning the other historical inaccuracies.  And all this for a motion picture nominated for seven Academy Awards.

It is 1554, and it is doubtful that Elizabeth will be receiving any awards.  That conflict I mentioned in the introduction has swung to the Catholic side with Henry VIII’s eldest daughter, Mary I (Kathy Burke), sitting on the throne of England.  Not only is she Catholic, but she is married to the equally Catholic Philip II (George Yiasoumi), King of Spain.  In order to keep England aligned with Rome, Mary needs to produce an heir.  We open with rumors of her being with child, though those in the know, like Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston), understand this is a physical impossibility.  Philip is rarely in England, making the chances of conception nearly impossible.  Instead, it is suspected that she is afflicted with a stomach tumor, and that her days are numbered.  This means the unthinkable could happen: the protestant Elizabeth, who is next in line for the throne, would rule unless something is done.  Through his council, Elizabeth is arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London for supposedly being involved in a plot to overthrow Mary.  During the imprisonment, Elizabeth is summoned before Mary to discuss involvement in the conspiracy.  Elizabeth’s insistence on her innocence saves her life, and she is told she can return to her estate.  She is not there long before Mary finally passes away without signing the decree to sever Elizabeth’s inheritance.  Elizabeth goes to London where she is crowned.  Immediately, there are two major threats to her government in the form of France and Spain.  The French appear to be the more immediate peril, with troops in Scotland to support another claimant to the English crown, Mary, Queen of Scots (not pictured).  Elizabeth is pressured by her counselors, among them her lover, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (Joseph Fiennes), to send an army they do not possess to deal with the French to the north.  They are met by Mary of Guise (Fanny Ardant), acting as regent for Mary, Queen of Scots, and defeated.  Though it is a disaster, there is a potential solution offered in the form of Henry, Duke of Anjou (Vincent Cassel).  He is to be Elizabeth’s husband, which would seal a treaty with the King of France (not pictured).  This is upsetting for Robert, and it is the beginning of a split between them.  However, Henry does not make a good impression upon arriving at the English court.  He behaves in too forward a manner with Elizabeth upon meeting her.  Later, when he does not show for a banquet, she finds him in his chambers cross dressing with his followers.  While this causes her to refuse his hand in marriage, it is her protector and secretary, Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), who concludes the matter.  Traveling to Scotland, he has a secret meeting with Mary of Guise saying that he will support Elizabeth’s overthrow.  It ends with Mary of Guise being assassinated.  During this intrigue, Elizabeth must also deal with backlash over her Act of Uniformity.  This is designed to unite all Christians in England under one banner.  Opposing the measure are the remaining Catholic bishops, but Francis prevents them from voting against it.  These moves increasingly alienate England from Rome.  In response, Pope Pius V (John Gielgud) empowers Father John Ballard (Daniel Craig) to overthrow Elizabeth’s government and assassinate her.  Also aware of the plot is Álvaro de la Quadra (James Frain), who represents the Spanish government.  His initial move is to approach Robert to get him to convince Elizabeth to side with Spain.  Because she refuses, Robert opts to go along with the scheme to get rid of the queen.  As always, it is Francis who learns of the treachery and takes measures to prevent it.  He rounds up all the conspirators, including Thomas, and sentences them to death.  Elizabeth personally approaches Robert, asking why he did such an awful thing.  All he can muster is the difficult position it is to be in love with a queen.  Instead of signing his death warrant, she lets him live so that he can be haunted for the rest of his life by the terrible decision he made.  From this point on, Elizabeth makes herself into the virgin queen, and this is how she presents herself to the court at the end of the film.

In point of fact, Elizabeth presents herself at the end as a statuesque version of the Virgin Mary.  In a previous scene, following the defeat of all arraigned against her, we see her weeping at the feet of a representation of the Mother of God with the Infant Jesus.  The only person there to witness the moment is Francis.  To him, Elizabeth remarks on how the greatness of Mary, how she could command the loyalty of so many.  Francis’ reply is a measured one, pertaining more to politics to religion.  He says that all men need something greater than themselves to look up to and worship.  This is meant to explain why she presents herself as an untouchable, alabaster image of a queen more fit for Heaven than England.  This Catholic has objections.  There is only one Queen of Heaven, and that is the Virgin Mary.  Also, characterizing her power as the film does is unfair.  She does not command worship.  Worship is also not the right word.  For the umpteenth time, Catholics do not worship Mary.  Instead, because of the special relationship she has with Jesus, we ask for her intercession.  After all, what better person is there to look to for supplication than the Mother of the best Son this world has seen?  Because of this, trying to model in such an earthly manner is folly.  Interestingly, Elizabeth unwittingly proves this point when addressing the bishops before adopting the Act of Uniformity.  She makes the statement that religion is higher than royalty.  In other words, the matters of God are of a different order of magnitude in importance.  Sadly, Christianity has been used as a political pawn over the centuries instead of trying reach an authentic, individual yet communal relationship with God as the Almighty desires.  This explains what went on in her day, and it continues today.

What also continues in Elizabeth is the modern use of flesh in order to make history more appealing.  That is the only reason I can come up with the number of sex scenes in this historical drama.  It is a slow-moving film full of political intrigue, and can be safely avoided.