Cate Blanchett brought me to this film, but I stayed for the Queen! Admittedly, I knew almost nothing about the Tudor time period of English history & the inaccuracies of this film led me to seek out & devour the actual facts!

What a rivetting performance by the young Blanchett though! Many noteworthy actors filled out a grande cast for this production.

In most royal films, it seems we see them already in seats of power, but in this, the audience is taken on the journey in acquiring power, the fragility of maintaining it, and the vulnerability of love. Elizabeth first battles for her freedom and life as she is persecuted for being Protestant and later wrestles with gaining her own footing as Queen. There's a legacy and legitimacy which she must live up during her reign. And it's loving a married man which turns out to be a dangerous mistake - one which she never made again.

Breath left my chest when she emerged cloaked in white as a symbol of the Virgin Mary (though isn't more Catholic than Protestant, perhaps that's a more modern interpretation...) & pronounced her marriage to her country. It was a powerful statement which she maintained her entire life, and what did that fear of the weakness of love cost her in the end?