'Elizabeth' featured at British Film Festival
By Tam Notosusanto
JAKARTA (JP): For the second year in a row, the British Film Festival here features an English monarch.
After last year's festival, which included Mrs. Brown, a film about Queen Victoria, this year's edition of the festival will screen Elizabeth, a film about the legendary Virgin Queen.
Coincidentally, this film is the only one of last year's five Oscar nominees for Best Picture that has not yet been screened in Indonesia. So now, following Saving Private Ryan, Shakespeare in Love, The Thin Red Line and Life is Beautiful -- which all ran in our regular movie theaters -- Elizabeth will complete the list.
More than just your average biopic, Elizabeth depicts the turbulent times of 16th century England, which serves as the backdrop to her rise to the throne. Being Protestant, Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) is arrested by her Catholic half-sister, Queen Mary (Kathy Burke), but soon the Queen dies of cancer and Elizabeth ascends to the throne.
She immediately plunges into a world of deception and intrigue, as she faces conniving people who wish her dead while tackling the challenge of restoring order to her divided country. Her most apparent antagonist is the treacherous Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston), but danger may be closer than she is ready to admit, in the form of her lover, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester (Joseph Fiennes), who, unbeknownst to her at first, is involved in the plot to topple her.
But Elizabeth is in firm control of the situation, thanks largely to her loyal adviser, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), the devious, dark-suited man who is outwardly solemn but essentially lethal.
Do not make the mistake of thinking that Elizabeth is a slow- moving, costume drama with a lot of talk and little action. Screenwriter Michael Hirst sets up an interesting web of conspiracies as the groundwork for his extremely cerebral story. Just like the brilliant The Lion in Winter (1968), this is a highly charged, intricately woven political drama, with the English kingdom serving as the stage.
Director Shekhar Kapur stylishly crafted the film with his highly energized and unusually angled camerawork, mainly courtesy of Remi Adefarasin's Oscar-nominated cinematography. Jill Bilcock's editing maintains the swift rhythm, while David Hirschfelder's music heightens the sensations and maximizes the suspense.
It is interesting that Elizabeth somewhat resembles The Godfather in its exhibition of murders and gallery of double crosses. The comparison comes out with the glimpse of the sweet- faced queen reigning on her throne while a montage shows her political enemies being killed off one by one. And the trusted Walsingham, as the quiet, cold-blooded henchman, is not unlike Tom Hagen, that loyal runner in Mario Puzo's famous Mafia tale.
Such superbly written characters can only be handled by the finest of actors, and Elizabeth is fortunate to be served by a strong cast that includes Blanchett and Rush, both Australian. The international cast also includes legendary British thespian John Gielgud, renowned actor-director Richard Attenborough, rising Belgian star Vincent Cassel and the famed French actress Fanny Ardant.
Elizabeth will be shown on the first day of the festival, July 1, along with three other films: Carla's Song, Miss Julie and Sliding Doors. The festival will run through July 7, and will also include the films Beautiful Thing, Beautiful People and East is East, as well as a selection of short films.
All films will be screened at Graha Bhakti Budaya at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center. Tickets, priced at Rp 6,000, can be purchased at The British Council, which has a buy three, get one free special offer, or at the venue.
And in conjunction with the festival, The British Council, in collaboration with the Jakarta Arts Institute and The Independent Filmmakers Confederation, is holding a workshop on production design from June 30 to July 3. The workshop will feature veteran production designer Tom Conroy.