Masterpiece Theatre: Elizabeth I
The Virgin Queen
Starring: Anne-Marie
Duff, Tara
Fitzgerald Director: Coky
Giedroyc Rating: Unrated
Format: DVD
In the
past 5 years or so I’ve watched close to 8 to 10 films about Elizabeth I. I’ve
always been fascinated by the Tudors & their tumultuous times. Like other
history fans, I have my favorite characters—and villains. Fortunately,
Elizabeth is on the favorites list (AND Mary, Queen of Scots—figure that one
out.). After watching a number of extremely brilliant women actors in the role,
I thought it was getting a bit ridiculous to see an English Queen running
around telling just about everybody, “I’m a Virgin, I’m a Virgin, I’m a
Virgin!” Good grief—shades of The Material Girl! Well, of course there was a
good reason for that. I think most historians agree that Elizabeth skillfully
allied her political reputation to the high level of adoration the people of
the period (even Protestants) felt for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then there’s
the practical reality that being virgo intacta was vital to be a player
in the European monarchial marriage game. This too Elizabeth played to her
advantage. By keeping kings & countries waiting & guessing on her next
move, Elizabeth felt relatively safe and—perhaps more importantly, on the
strictly personal level—garnered her the verbal romantic attention she seemed
to obsessively crave.
Coky
Giedroyc, director of this production stated, “Elizabeth had…a real
pathological fear of intimacy. Her father (Henry VIII) represented everything
male, and once you get close to a man you get killed…” She also had her
mother’s fate to reflect on. Even a naughty queen can lose her head—especially
if her hubby was good ol’ Henry (a Tudor definitely NOT on my favorites
list—but his cast-off wife Katherine of Aragon is.) Elizabeth was
considered an “enlightened” queen, even an intellectual (in an age when it was
considered very suspicious for a woman to have ideas of her own.) Nonetheless,
she was a child of her violent time, and was not adverse to employing torture
& deception in her struggle to keep her throne. Still, she was better than
most of her contemporaries and she clearly possessed a highly tuned conscience.
I’d
never seen Anne-Marie Duff before. Hers is not the tall, killer blonde type;
but rather she is short, elfin, with flowing, strawberry blonde hair (at least
in this film.) And she possess an inner charm, a real charisma and intellectual
radiance. She is perfect for the role of Elizabeth. She appears to effortless
generate regal majesty, and that is as much matter of personal character as it
is of acting skill.
There
are three scenes from the film that stand in my mind.
The
first was the opening (a good omen of enjoyment to come.) A teenage Elizabeth
has been banished to The Tower by her bitter, paranoid half-sister, Mary. She
is talking with ladies-in-waiting, when they hear soldiers approaching. They
scramble to set a scene of humble piety by hiding things & “straightening
up.” One of the ladies tosses a rosary like a football to Elizabeth, who catches
it in mid-air.
The
second scene is not far from the first. Mary has died & Elizabeth becomes
the new Queen. She is in a triumphal procession weaving through the streets
London. Here Anne-Marie Duff is at her most radiant, showering the people with
her gratitude & basking in the love they had for her. It’s ironic that the
common folk loved Elizabeth almost in proportion to how much they hated her
mother (Anne Boleyn.) In a similar sort of twist, the people disliked Queen
Mary (Tudor) as much as they loved her mother, the divorced Queen Katherine
The
third scene is near the end of the picture. Elizabeth is old & near the end
of her days. She is standing at the end of a large outdoor court while her new,
very young ladies-in-waiting stand at the opposite end surreptitiously watching
her. Elizabeth is so caught up thinking about the past that she seems unaware
of their critical stare. In her mind she hears a song from her bygone youth, and begins to rather awkwardly—and
feebly—dance to the tune. To the maids she’s an object of ridicule & they
parody her movements in a dance they find hopeless old fashioned. It is a
poignant scene reflecting the relentless nature of time & the cruel honesty
of youth—and it reminds us that, in the end, Elizabeth was a vulnerable human
being too.
Another
aspect I appreciate about this “Elizabeth,” is that it was mercifully brief
& fairly neutral in the depiction of the rivalry between Elizabeth Tudor
& her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. British films have almost invariably portrayed
Mary Stuart as either an idiot, or a sex-driven demon out to bring the
Inquisition into England. Neither is true, but there’s little doubt that had
Mary ascended to the English crown, it would have been a full-blown disaster
for all concerned.
The
supporting cast & essential production values are of the highest quality. A
special nod to the music (see CD review below) and costumes (people, including
men, really knew how to dress in those days!)
Review: JEFarrow
Updated
06/09
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