The story is divided into upper and lower parts, telling about the experience of Queen Elizabeth I in the last 20 years of her reign. The upper part is dominated by the love between the Queen and the Earl of Leicester, and the lower part is dominated by the passion of the Queen and the Earl of Essex. Love, hate and hatred in the context of history, this is also the usual method of epic dramas.
The upper time points are from 1579 to 1589, 20 to 30 years after Elizabeth I came to the throne. He mainly talked about three things: his marriage with the Duke of Anjou, France, the execution of Mary I, Queen of Scots, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. In fact, the relationship with these three countries was also the top diplomatic problem faced by the United Kingdom at that time, and the background was the confrontation between the two camps of Protestantism (led by Britain) and Catholicism (led by Spain). The Duke of Anjou was the Queen's last and closest marriage partner. Although he is 22 years younger than Elizabeth, this does not prevent the two sides from developing good feelings for each other. However, the Catholic status of the Duke of Anjou was unacceptable to ministers and the public, especially after the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, protests and even riots continued one after another, forcing the queen to dissolve the engagement. "On Monsieur's Departure", the Queen's farewell to the Duke of Anjou, is narrated in the film, and the Duke of Anjou died a few years later (from malaria, which also humiliated in the Netherlands), which is embarrassing. If the Duke of Anjou represents the Queen's love, then Mary I is the family. Mary I, Queen of Scots, was the granddaughter of Elizabeth's aunt. She had defected to Elizabeth due to civil unrest, but was placed under house arrest. In the film, Elizabeth apologizes to the cousin on the one hand, but is afraid to release her for fear of her instigating a rebellion. There is no conclusive evidence in history whether Mary I participated in the rebellion, so the film is also noncommittal. At first, the queen tried her best to protect her, but after seeing (unnecessary) evidence, she finally signed the beheading order helplessly. To some extent, Elizabeth's love and kinship were cut off by politics and public opinion. Although he is honored as a great country, he cannot enjoy the lust of the family of ordinary people. This is the most common narrative theme of the life of the royal family. In the spirit of saving money (it's just a TV show, after all), the final naval battle with Spain was only a few minutes long and didn't even contain a war scene; but the director cleverly got the Queen to deliver the famous field speech (Speech to the Troops at Tilbury), fully demonstrating her majestic, dignified, and brave side. The victory gave the British hegemony for a while, and also brought the reputation of the Queen and the Earl of Leicester as commander-in-chief to their peak. However, the earl of Leicester subsequently died suddenly of illness, much to the grief of the queen. He introduced his stepson, the Earl of Essex, before the sickbed, which led to the lower part.
The time span of the lower part is also about ten years, that is, from 1589 until the eve of the Queen's death (1603). Major events were several expeditions, including the Lisbon expedition in 1589 (which failed), the Capture of Cadiz in 1596, and the Nine Years' War in 1594-1603. The Earl of Essex participated in all three wars to varying degrees, from losing to winning to losing; and this also reflects his relationship with the Queen - from attraction to favor to rejection. In the first half of the film, the Queen always dotes on this man who is 32 years younger than herself, and even endured him marrying a wife and having children; but it was rumored that he had a close relationship with James VI of Scotland, and Coming back from Cadiz was too self-inflated, so he had to put it into the cold palace. Sending the Earl of Essex to Ireland was originally a punishment, but not only did he fail to atone for his crimes, but he also made a private contract to escape from battle; It is the banner of the Qing monarch's side, but after the failure, it is impossible to escape the charge of treason. Before the execution, the Earl of Essex sent the Queen a poem (historically, this poem was actually written by a poet at the time called Chidiock Tichborne, who was executed for participating in another rebellion), expressing his love for life and the past of nostalgia. Knowing this earlier, he should, like his stepfather, follow the Queen's advice and turn love into friendship, which may last a long time. Therefore, the themes to be presented in the lower part can be summarized as: love, desire, money, and power, all can have it, but there is a bottom line; Even rebellion, without forgetting the old feelings.
The top and bottom add up to nearly four hours, which is epic. But because it was broadcast on TV, the budget was well controlled, at just £5.5 million, and most of the scenes were done in the scaled-up Palace of Whitehall. The film is of a slow-moving type, but as long as you can bear your temper for the first 20 minutes, and you are interested in this history, it is very possible to be attracted and even unable to stop. Compared with the 1998 version of "Elizabeth", this film is undoubtedly more faithful to historical facts, and it also focuses more on the portrayal of several important ministers or important historical figures of the Queen (Sir Francis Walsingham, Baron Burghley and his son, Earl of Leicester, the lower part and the great philosopher. Francis Bacon et al. Shakespeare in my opinion). But the film implicitly affirms the Queen's virginity, which historians may disagree with. It is also worth mentioning that the punishment scenes in the film are both bloody and play-like: on one side, the belly is cut and the beheaded beheaded, and on the other side, the person whose hand has been cut off can hold the cut off hand with the other hand. Shout the oath.
This is Tom Hooper's first costume movie. He has had several experience directing costume dramas before, and he has also worked with Helen Mirren in the criminal investigation drama "Prime Suspect", so this time he is familiar with it. Five years later, he won an Oscar when he made another tale of Britain's supreme ruler (George VI in The King's Speech).
Helen Mirren, who was recently made a Dame, played Elizabeth I in her 40s and 60s in her sixtieth year. Sometimes majestic, sometimes shy, sometimes solemn, sometimes lively. Will be angry with jealousy, and forget myself with caress. She is a queen and a woman. However, what I have to complain about is that every time I think of Helen Mirren's age, I feel uncomfortable with all the little girl-like coquettish acts in the film, and even make plays. I admit it's my problem, no wonder the actors, and the real queen (if she's a virgin) might be like this, who knows?
Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons, who plays the Earl of Leicester in The First, won Emmys and Golden Globes for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor (Miniseries). The film won 9 Emmy Awards that year.
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