Elizabeth: outline of the main scenes from the film

Elizabeth: outline of the main scenes from the film

first scene 1554 :burning of three Protestants as heretics: the atmosphere is gloomy and tense .

second scene :Norfolk , one of the Queen 's counsellors, asks one of the Queen's ladies whether the news of the queen's pregnancy is true. The lady tells him that there are all the symptoms , still everybody knows that the queen and the king haven't slept together for a long time Mary , Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon's daughter ; is on the throne. This episode clearly shows the atmosphere of falseness, ambiguity and suspicion dominating at court .

third scene From the start Norfolk is presented as powerful and ambiguous , very ambitious too. He tries to convince the queen that all her troubles with the Protestant are due to the presence of her half-sister Elizabeth ( daughter of Henry and Ann Boleyn ) . He suggests killing her . However all the other counsellors seem to think that it's better to give Elizabeth a fair trial before killing her , to avoid making a martyr of her.

The Queen is show as an unbalanced and frail woman , who has no help from her spanish husband ( he doesn't utter one single word) .

Presentation os Elizabeth The first contrast between the two women is given through the setting : the darkness and over-bearing atmpsphere of the castle is in striking contrast with the bright and lively situation Elizabeth is living : She's dancing in the open air with some ladiesaand, altough nothing is said it is immediately clear that she is deeply in love with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who returns her love.

The pleasant atmosphere is interruppted by the threatening arrival of some knights who order her to follow them to the Tower  since she accused of treason..

In the Tower : Elizabeth is treated like an heretic . sheis finally brought in front of her half-sister who is desperate because she's discovered that what she thought to be a baby is actually a cancer and her husband has left her.

The Virgin Knowing that she is about to die , Mary wants to speak to Elizabeth : Mary offers her to save her life if Elizabeth promises to keep the Catholic faith alive : "DO not take away from the people the consolation of the Blessed Virgin , Our Holy mother ". The image of the virgin will be recurrent in the film . Its meaning will be clear at the end . From this scene Elizabeth shows her determination and strong character.

Walshingham: from the moment he's introduced it is clear that his return form France , where he had been exiled for political reasons ,  is feared by Norfolk and his allies . at the beginning he seems an unscrupolous person, not to be trusted, ready to kill.

Sir William + Alvaro della Quadra , Spanish ambassador from the moment he is introduced ,Sir William, who's obviously in favour of Elizabeth's reign, is worried about descendancy and he insists Elizabeth should get married and have children. ( her suitor is in this case the Spanish king who is still married to Mary )

Death of the Queen: in spite of Norfolk 's insistence , Mary refuses on her deathbed to sign the paper that would condemn her half-sister to death.

Elizabeth is proclaimed Queen incoronation ceremony

Mirror scene : while she is looking herself in the mirror all of her councellors tell her the awful situation she has inherited . Elizabeth , however is still a young frivolous woman , and she doesn't seem to worry too much, she is interested in having fun .

Walshingham is back from the exile : at the party he carefully observes the Queen from behind a veil ( the veil is here a symbol of his still not clear position , at least for the audience , we still don't know whether he should be trusted.)

The French ambassador speaks on the behalf of the king of France who wants to form an alliegance with the Queen through the wedding between E. and his brother , the Duke of Anjou. However the

Duke of Anjou is also the nephew of Marie de Guise. The latter is seiging England from the Scottish side.

Love scene The eyes on the veil of the Queen's four-posters are a symbol of her public role . She's in everybody's eyes , she cannot behave as any other woman , her privacy doesn't exist any longer.

Meeting with the councellors : The French army led by Marie de Guise is attacking from the Scottish side : a decision has to be taken but E. appears childish and uncertain and therefore she's easily manouvered by people like Norfolk who want her to fail. All the councellors , except for Walshingham , suggests she should send an army against the French.

War Scene : this crude war scene shows that the English army was not up to ht . It had been made up of very young and unexperienced soldiers who were quickly defeated. 

e. confronts her father's picture and she feels inadequate . Walshingham tells her that the defeat was also caused by the Bishops who are against her and therefore convinced the majority of the people not to ht fotr a bastard Queen.

After the initial worry for the Scottish defeat , E. appears more worried for Sir Robert than for the War. She still behaves like a young lover , an individual driven by her passion.

Confronting the Bishop the day has come when E. has to meet the Bishops and other politicians to pass an ACT of Uniformity , to arrive at a single Church of Englnd, to end once and for all the internal divisions caused by the two creeds . Norfolk seems to be happy and confident that E: will fail and therefore she'll have to resign.

While reharsing her speech the Queen starts to think about "her people" , to realise their importance.

A goup of the most reactionary bishops has been trapped in a cellar by Wlashingham . Their absence makes it possible to get the majority of the voteds for her Act of Uniformity.

Meeting the Duke of Anjou. The dukes proves to be a real fool .

The Vatican : The Pope meets an English priest : the pope seems to suggests the need to act against the Queen (Prayers might not be sufficent).

The boat love scene : the light and frivolous atmosphere is interrupted by an attempt to murder the Queen .

Sir Robert's decline During one of Sir William's attempts to convice the Queen to accept a suitor , she gets to know that Sir Robert is already married . Sir robert is shun by all the other courtiers because he has lost the Queen's favour.

The Performance of the Ship It shows English piracy on Spanish ships. The Spanish ambassador tells Norfolk that there are rumors he is allied to Marie de Guise against the Queen .

The Queen discovers the real nature of the Duke of Anjou : loose customs of the French court .

The Queen humiliates Lord Robert : R. You are still my Elizabeth

E. I am not your Elizabeth . I am no man's Elizabeth

E. I will have one mistress here and no master!

The queen is lonelier and lonelier . However her royal role incereases more and more , she realises what she wants , she realise sthat she she can do without love , she is more and more identifyin herself with her people.

The atmosphere at court gets more and more tense :

-Lord Robert is convinced by the Spanish ambassador to be part of a plot against the Queen for her own sake.

-The priest arrives from the Vatican with a bull which deprives the Queen of her throne and encourages her people to kill her in the name of the Catholic Church. The priest is welcomed by Norfolk.

-Isabel, one of the Queen 's ladies in waiting , tries on one of the Queen's dress and plays at being the Queen to please Lord Robert: The dress is poisoned and she dies. The Queen oversees a hooded ure in her palace ( the English priest who has to kill her ) , but he soon disappears because of other people's arrival.

The atmosphere is very gothic: hoode man, high column , dark corners.

Walshingham goes to Scotland and gets rid of marie de Guise He seems the only one who really works for the queen's benefit .

Sir Robert wants to speak to the Queen in private but , being more and more aware of her public role , the Queen refuses and she refuses him once more.

She eventually rebels to Sir William's advice of being an ally either to France or to Spain . She dismisses him saying that from now onward she'll follow her own advice . ( She has acquired more confidence and strength) .

Walshingham Shows her all the possible dangers to her reign: and tells her that a cospiracy is being prepared to get rid of her . He also tells her the main people involved : Norfolk and the Priest , through which all the others will be known . The Queen takeds revenge on these characters. Some people are spared to testify her mercifulness.

Her look has progressively changed , she has no loose hair any more: she doesn't care to look good now , she has to convey an idea of stability and strength.

The Virgin Scene :Walshingham : "All men need something graeter than themselevs to look up and worship. Men must be able to touch the divine on earth . "

E: " She has such powers over men's herats. They diesd for her. "

W. " They have found nothing to repalce her ., "

The suggestion is taken and an incredible changes takes place in the Queen's look : she has her hair cut , and she paint her face white , she starts usibng big collars as halo around her face : almost to resemble the Virgin , or at least to suggest something not human , divine . "I have become a virgin."

Blinding light as if for God's light.

" I am married to England "