1998, 2 hrs, Rated R for violence and sexuality. Dir: Shekhar Kapur. Cast: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth I), Geoffrey Rush (Sir Francis Walsingham), Joseph Fiennes (Robert Dudley), Christopher Eccleston (Duke of Norfolk), Richard Attenborough (Sir William), Fanny Ardant (Mary of Guise).

How do I know that this is a fantastic film? Because as I watched Elizabeth, I scribbled page after page of notes on different scenes (ex.-"great scene", quotes, emotions), more than any prior film that I can recall. This is not a summer blockbuster, it's a period drama, but don't run away from it like so many people I know! Just because buildings don't explode doesn't mean a movie isn't worth paying full price.

Cate Blanchett deserves the Golden Globe she won for Best Actress; this role of a princess who becomes Queen, the strongest leader in the world, screams best actress. Even more, this film deserves an Oscar nod for Best Picture, and for the director, Shekhar Kapur (I know, I never heard of him either).

If you have to ask what the movie is about, I'll give you some leeway, but if you have to ask who Elizabeth is and if it's a real person, I'm going to ignore you forever.

The story is based on the life of Princess Elizabeth, born the "bastard" child from father King Henry VIII and his "whore" wife Ann Boleyn, a protestant next in line for the crown. After "Bloody" Queen Mary Tudor dies from cancer, Elizabeth is crowned leader of a struggling, bankrupt country that is threatened by Spain and the French. The girl must become a woman and a Queen simultaneously.

Even worse, the Pope declares glory for whoever kills "bastard" Elizabeth and places the crown back in Catholic hands. That has to put a kink in your self-esteem. We see Liz go from a carefree young woman frolicking in the fields with her aides to a stern, "virgin" queen married to England, and it's a turbulent and uncomfortable transition we watch with reverance.

Her rival and would-be King, the Duke of Norfolk is a worthy adversary. Played marvelously by Christopher Eccleston, he is a strong leader of Queen Mary's former advisers and other Catholic followers eager to control the island nation.

This a game of "Who do you trust" fit for royalty. The X-Files theme of "Trust no one" applies to Elizabeth, only 400 hundred years earlier. Power is an addictive drug, and arrogant men will do whatever they can to attain it's high. Unfortunately for them, the men are only as powerful are the women entrusted for support, but just as prone to backstabbing.

Just when you thought it couldn't get better, Geoffrey Rush comes along with a top-notch performance as Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's most trusted adviser and a man willing to do anything to keep her on the throne.

Joseph Fiennes was good in Shakespeare in Love, a much different look at the period, but in Elizabeth his stock goes up ten notches. Fiennes, playing Lord Robert Dudley, the love of Elizabeth's life, is a striking man, with a bright future.

For a queen who ushered in "The Golden Age", we see a Golden Globe, and hopefully a couple of visits from a royal subject named Oscar.