Tugas Review Film

Nama : Adi Mulyana
NPM : 170110100067
Administrasi Negara
Almost a decade after they lit up the screen in the acclaimed Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey
Rush, and director Shekhar Kapur reunite for the follow-up Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Even more
lavishly produced than its predecessor, Elizabeth: The Golden Age is, like the 1998 film, a thriller gussied
up as a costume drama, but it makes the same mistake that so many sequels do: it mistakes bigger for
better, overwhelming the viewer with so much music, spectacle and melodrama as to nearly squelch the
human drama.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age opens in 1585 and finds the queen still being harangued by her staff,
notably chief adviser and spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham (Rush), about finding a husband and
producing an heir. She entertains a number of royal suitors, but is charmed the most by the dashing Sir
Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) -- a pirate and explorer who has just recently returned from the New World.
Raleigh tells the monarch and her court about how he established a colony there in honor of the Virgin
Queen -- Virginia -- and shows off the gifts he has brought back for her, namely tobacco, potatoes and
gold.
The Spanish ambassador, however, doesn't take too kindly to the presentation of the gold, since
the swashbuckling privateer Raleigh stole it from Spanish vessels. Tensions between Spain and England,
two powerful empires in their prime, are already at a fever pitch since King Philip II of Spain (Jordi
Molla) plunged Europe into holy war. (For those of you who skipped class, Spain is a Catholic nation,
while England is Protestant.) These are the days of the Inquisition and Elizabeth and her advisers fear that
Spain will bring such terror to their shores.
Philip II, however, isn't the only royal pain for Elizabeth. There's also her cousin Mary Stuart of
Scotland (Samantha Morton), an imprisoned Catholic monarch, and a cell of Jesuit zealots (led by Rhys
Ifans) who are out to assassinate Elizabeth. Long story short, Spain launches its superior armada to
conquer England and, well, if you don't know what happened to them then you really did miss class,
didn't you? Amidst all this international intrigue, Elizabeth falls for Raleigh, but appears poised for
heartbreak again when he becomes taken with the queen's beloved lady-in-waiting, also named Elizabeth
but who goes by Bess (Abbie Cornish) for short. Raleigh may have sought the queen's favor in order to
fund his next expedition, but he finds that destiny has something else in store for him.
Subtlety is hard to find in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The film's bodice-ripping passion is the
stuff of romance novels featuring Fabio on the cover, and the film's political subtext is far too on the nose
for its own good. (Even the score is over-the-top at times.) It is not reading too much into the film to see
Philip II as a substitute for George W. Bush, portrayed by Molla as an awkward zealot whose piety fuels
his policy to wage war on whomever he perceives as a threat.
On the other hand, the Catholics of this film are almost a stand-in for Muslims -- but, unlike
Philip II, Elizabeth refuses to trample the rights of her subjects whose religion happens to be the same as
her enemies -- while the Jesuit assassins operate like a terrorist cell. The film goes out of its way to make
its metaphors transparent, as if screaming, "This isn't some period movie! This is really about today!"
The Spaniards here are reminiscent of both the Klingons as portrayed in the original Star Trek
series (swarthy war-mongering charlatans), as well as Mexican bandidos in any number of spaghetti
westerns. There's one scene where the Spanish ambassador practically snarls, "We don't need no stinkin'
badges!" With his mumbled speech and deformed legs, Molla's Phillip II is a monstrous caricature, a
cross between John The Spaniards here are reminiscent of both the Klingons as portrayed in the original
Star Trek series (swarthy war-mongering charlatans), as well as Mexican bandidos in any number of
spaghetti westerns. There's one scene where the Spanish ambassador practically snarls, "We don't need no
stinkin' badges!" With his mumbled speech and deformed legs, Molla's Phillip II is a monstrous
caricature, a cross between John Leguizamo in Moulin Rouge! and a Chris Kattan sketch character.
And yet despite these shortcomings, the breathlessly-paced film yanks you into its soap opera
narrative and the three leads keep you invested in their characters. The innuendo-laced comic repartee
between Blanchett and Owen ignites more than a few sparks, while Cornish and Blanchett create a tender,
sisterly bond between the two Elizabeths. Blanchett even gets to deliver a rousing St. Crispin's Day-style
speech while garbed in shining armor. There is some truly gorgeous cinematography, production design
and art direction to be found, along with the grandest CG-enhanced sea battle this side of a Pirates of the
Caribbean movie. So if you like your history lessons loud and garish, bombastic and bloody, then
Elizabeth: The Golden Age is for you.

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Nama : Adi Mulyana

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