Elizabeth - the 1998 Movie

Elizabeth" The 1998 movie "Elizabeth," directed by Shekhar Kapur, from a script by Michael Hirst, is a historical epic that takes place during and after the mid-16th-century period when England's Princess Elizabeth was nearly eliminated by her half-sister, Queen Mary. It portrays the events of Mary's death, Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, and the struggles and events that she must overcome in order to preserve the strength of the English Monarchy, and establish Protestantism as the chief English religion. She must also maintain her stability and safety as a female ruler in a male-dominated society. The movie is beautifully made, with eloquent and realistic costumes, and prominent actors, and it successfully turns an important historical period into a riveting drama filled with action and romance. However, looking at "Elizabeth" from a historical standpoint, it is lacking in terms of accuracy. The chronological events in the movie do not follow with the historical events, and instances that happened over many years are crammed into a short period of time. Also, many events are exaggerated, or even completely made up in order to add to the dramatic appeal of the movie. Despite these flaws, "Elizabeth" does correctly relate the main aspects of Queen Elizabeth I's rule. Elizabeth was born in 1533, the daughter of the infamous Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was three, her mother was beheaded for treason and adultery, and Parliament declared her marriage to Henry invalid, which made Elizabeth illegitimate. Her chances of ever ascending the throne were again thwarted by the birth of Edward, the son of Henry and his third wife. When Edward, a Protestant, died in 1553, his older half-sister, Mary, a Catholic, took the throne. Mary always held bitter feelings toward Elizabeth because Anne Boleyn treated Catherine of Aragon, Mary's mother, badly. To avoid angering Mary, Elizabeth "conformed outwardly to Catholicism," but she secretly hoped and plotted to restore Protestantism. She was briefly locked up in the Tower of London, and was almost executed. The movie begins with the execution of three Protestant activists, ordered by Mary, illustrating her hatred and intolerance for Protestants. In order to avoid angering Mary, "Elizabeth continually had to proclaim her pious distaste for heresy."(Jagger) In the movie, Mary meets with her advisors, including the Duke of Norfolk, who advises her to arrest Elizabeth for treason, and possibly execute her. They believe that she is part of a conspiracy to kill Mary, ascend the throne, and reinstate Protestantism. The movie shows Elizabeth being captured and taken to the Tower of London, where she is kept for short period of time. During the time when she is imprisoned, Mary's advisors, namely Norfolk, attempt to persuade her to put Elizabeth to death, but Mary is reluctant to do so. Elizabeth is taken to see Mary, who at this point knows that she is dying of ovarian cancer. Mary begs Elizabeth to promise that when she becomes Queen, she will preserve Catholicism in England. Elizabeth promises only to "do as her heart tells her to do," which angers Mary, and she is then put under house arrest at the royal manor of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, where she stays until Mary's death. In reality, these events followed somewhat of a different course. Elizabeth was suspected of plotting the reinstatement of Protestantism with a French ambassador and other Protestant activists, and Mary's advisors suggested that Elizabeth be put under surveillance, as it might be then possible to find reasons for sending her to the tower. Investigations proceeded, and Elizabeth was finally sent to the tower, where she was held for two months in a suite of four rooms, where only her servants could visit her. When she was released from the tower, she was taken to the estate at Woodstock, and kept there for nine months under house arrest. During this time, she was allowed no visitors. In the movie, Robert Dudley frequently visited her. In reality, this would never have been allowed. The confrontation with Mary is inaccurate as well. Instead of a face-to-face confrontation about preserving Catholicism, Mary wrote her dying wish in a letter, and had it sent to Woodstock, where Elizabeth in turn replied back with the same message that the movie shows. These inaccuracies in the movie can be attributed to the filmmaker's lack of film time, as well as the drama factor. A face-to-face confrontation is much more dramatic and entertaining than a mail correspondence. Another inaccuracy in the movie is the role of Norfolk. The movie shows him as a loyal servant to Mary, and a strong supporter of the execution of Elizabeth. Actually, "Norfolk was not a key character in English political history until Elizabeth had been on the throne for some years."(Thomas) His role in the movie is almost entirely false, although he was eventually put to death due to his role in a conspiracy against Elizabeth. Again, this can be attributed to the drama factor in the movie. Norfolk assumes the role of the main "bad guy," and heightens the suspense of the movie. When Mary finally dies due to ovarian cancer, Elizabeth is notified at Woodstock, and travels to England, where she takes the crown amid great public rejoicing. At this time, the movie shows Sir Francis Walsingham, a Protestant activist who had been hiding out in France awaiting the death of Mary, returning to England to council Elizabeth, and the ascension of Elizabeth to the throne. In reality, Walsingham did not become a key figure in English politics until the second decade of Elizabeth's reign, although Elizabeth did maintain correspondence with him throughout the early years of her reign. During the first few weeks of her reign, Elizabeth reduced the size of her council in order to get rid of several Catholic members, and appointed several new ones. The most skillful of her new advisors was William Cecil, who was later made Lord Burghley. In the movie, Richard Attenborough, an elderly man, plays Sir William. The real Sir William was only thirty years of age when Elizabeth was crowned, and he served under her for forty years. She never forced him to retire, as the movie later shows. At the very start of her reign, Elizabeth faced pressures from both her advisors and Parliament to marry and produce an heir. Her suitors included Philip II of Spain, Archduke Charles of Austria, Eric XIV of Sweden, the Duke d' Anjou, the Duke of Alencon, and many others. However, she was reluctant to marry from the beginning, and told Parliament that "in the end this shall be sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that a Queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin"(Ridley). She was, in fact, probably in love with Robert Dudley, known also as the Earl of Leicester.