Mare Somniorum

Cate Blanchett returns as the queen of all queens.  I have to admit I didn’t really expect overly much, don’t get me wrong though, Blanchett is a good actress, the material is strong (it’s an amazing period in western civilization), but the thing is, we know the story.  We know the details, we know the people.  The number of  books written about Elizabeth make a nice big stack, actually, they make a pretty nice library on their own.

However, like all stories, how it’s told matters.  And I’ll flatly admit this story is told very well.  Very very well. The acting is stunning.  Blanchett provides a larger emotional span than I expected, bringing Elizabeth both to life on the screen but also making her human, a believable mortal trying to lead her children through uncertain times.  Apart from Blanchetts work, Jordi Mollá does an amazing Philip, and of course, Clive Owen embodies Raleigh in a swashbuckling way that’s supposedly highly authentic and quite fascinating.  Geoffery Rush (Walsingham) also deserves mention, as does Abbie Cornish (Beth).  All in all the cast is good, very good indeed.

On the technical front, the movie is shot to produce emotional effects with great success.  Lighting and camera work is top notch for its purpose. Sometimes you can feel it go a bit over the top, but it’s usually in “theme” with the rest of the work, so it fits in well enough.  It’s been a while since I’ve been so gripped by a movie speech as Blanchetts delivery to the soldiers upon facing the armada.

I must say I was very happy that I caught the movie in theaters.  I doubt it’s a movie I’ll watch many times over, but it’s well worth seeing.