« Syphilis | Main | The Importance of Herbs »
Golden Age Review
By Madeline | February 25, 2008
Last night, I finally got to see Golden Age. I’ve been dying to see it ever since it came out, but that’s the life of a parent, huh? 
Because this was a historic film that was done around my favorite time in history and included phenomenal actors in beautiful wardrobes, I can’t hate this film. While the historical fantasy of it sways my romantic side, the historian in me is relatively disappointed.
Let’s start off on a positive note and I’ll detail what I liked about it. First and foremost, the actors. I LOVED that they got some of the same actors from Elizabeth I. Cate Blanchet is an absolutely incredible Elizabeth and no other actress will ever reach the powerful authority as Elizabeth the way she does - at least in my eyes. There were several others who stood out in my memory from the first Elizabeth movie like the actor who played Wolsingham, Geoffrey Rush and the little woman who plays one of Elizabeth’s ladies in waiting. I have to say, it really added a lot to the film to see similar faces. The new faces, however, did not disappoint. Clive Owen, who played Walter Raleigh did an exceptional job and really put forth an amazing performance. I felt that all the actors were very well chosen and that their level of acting was totally believable and pulled you right into the story line.
Additionally, I absolutely loved the wardrobe. The costumes were absolutely breathtaking. The fabrics used to construct these pieces of wearable art were rich and beautiful and the patterns used were right out of the 16th century. The wigs were crazy, but that’s the way they would have been then and it was a great topic of conversation while watching the film. I thought the way the movie was filmed did the costumes a great justice. It seemed as if the entire film was shot like a beautiful water color. The use of light and darkness in some of the shots was absolutely breathtaking. Very, very well done.
I suppose my biggest gripe would come down to the basic story of the movie. First and foremost, the title of the movie is Golden Age leading one to believe the movie would ultimately reflect why the time of Elizabeth’s reign was referred to as the golden age. She did so much to further the enlightenment in England that her father, Henry VIII, first introduced. She was the one who encouraged such greats as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe and instilled a love of theatre into the hearts of the English. The only time any theatrical performance was really shown was in the form of dancers who she paid little attention to.
Looking back on the movie this morning, I was struck with the realization that the movie really held very little substance. If asked what the movie was ultimately about, I’d have to respond that the story was centered on her love affair with Walter Raleigh. Interesting that so much focus was placed on this when, from what my research shows, she never had an affair with Walter Raleigh. He did win her favor, but I couldn’t find anything that indicated it was a romantic favor - or at least not any more than any other handsome male courtier at that time (we all know Elizabeth loved her men…).
It is true that Elizabeth’s most favored lady in waiting, Bess, was cast from court and Walter Raleigh thrown in jail, however, this was done after the child had already been born. The pregnancy did escalate into a secret marriage, though it was over a year until Elizabeth found out. When she did find out, she was furious - not because she was in love with him herself, but because they went behind her back and wed.
Additionally, Walter Raleigh was not released from prison for England’s war with the Spanish and Walter Raleigh was certainly not the hero of that battle. Walter Raleigh was still rotting in prison as the English fought and then was later called out of prison to assist in dividing the spoils of the battered Spanish ships. My husband found the part of Walter Raleigh being the hero of this battle an insult to history and was very upset about it. Once learning that Raleigh didn’t even participate, I was disappointed myself. The real credit should have gone to Sir Francis Drake who devised the perfect battle tactic to annihilate the Spanish, who greatly outnumbered the English, in less than a day.
Another issue I had with the movie was how Queen Mary of Scotland was portrayed. She was painted as a vile traitor who only wanted to see Elizabeth dead. Perhaps it was because I am so fond of Margaret George’s Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles that I had a difficult time seeing her portrayed as a villain. The woman was promised assistance by Elizabeth and then captured for almost twenty years. I think if anyone else were put in such a position of captivity, especially for such a length of time, they would try to escape through any means necessary as Queen Mary attempted.
As for Queen Mary’s death, I was grateful that they did include the part of her taking off her black outer garments to reveal the blazing red of martyrdom beneath, however, I was very disappointed at her death. They made her beheading seem very well executed (no pun intended there!) when it was really a botched job! The poor woman was initially struck in the back of the head and the axe wielder had to dig it out of the back of her skull in order to finish the job - it is rumored that when this happened, she actually gasped, “Sweet Jesus!” There are discrepancies as to whether the second swing was accurate or not, but the third swing finally freed her body of its head - almost, that is. It was still attached by a strip of skin that the executioner had to saw at with his axe to sever. Once the head was finally disconnected, the executioner grabbed her hair to hold up the head to display to the onlookers. Her grayed and balding head rolled out from under its wig and banged unceremoniously across the stage. Certainly not the graceful, regal death the movie portrayed.
I am going to have to give this one 3.5 Tudor Roses out of five. For those of you who read this earlier and saw the two Tudor Roses out of five, I think I was a little harsh perhaps after discussing the movie with my husband. If I were to rate every movie on it’s historical accuracy, I think every film would get one Tudor Rose. So, looking at this movie from a purely entertainment standpoint, considering it fictional and loosely based on history, it deserves 3.5 Tudor Roses.
Topics: Movie Reviews |
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.