Power can make someone satisfied. But power can also make us lose love. Elizabeth I, Queen of England, was the most powerful woman in the world in the contemporary society. She struggled for power and safety in a patriarchal society. She made England the most powerful country in Europe. However, she loses her real love, Robert. In this essay, I am going to discuss how power hinders Elizabeth's love in a patriarchal society in the movie Elizabeth, and the production of the movie.

Elizabeth, by nature, is a passionate girl. When she is still a princess, she meets Robert and soon they falls in love. However, as a Protestant, Elizabeth is hated by her sister the Queen, Bloody Mary who is a devoted Catholic. Mary arrests her to the London Tower. Elizabeth has to be strong to face challenges. Robert’s words can console her, "Remember who you are. You are not afraid of them." Elizabeth overcomes all obstacles and finally becomes the Queen after the death of Mary. She enjoys her happiest time in her life with Robert. However, because of her power, Elizabeth soon loses Robert.

Elizabeth, after taking over the declining England, has to protect herself in the hostility from everyone in the palace. As a woman, she has to have some men to be her advisers. She knows that there are only few men whom she can trust. This makes her become stronger. She takes over the power from Catholic Church and rejects the marriage of Spain and France. All these indicate her strong character in the patriarchal society. Her throne soon becomes concrete. However, she is in despair when she knows that her lover Robert is married.

Elizabeth loves Robert deeply since she is young, but she cannot marry him. As a queen, she cannot love a man who has already married. This will ruin the reputation of her majesty . She shouts to Robert, "I am not your Elizabeth. I am no men's Elizabeth. There will be one mistress here, and no more misters!" She has to be strong so that she can continue to take her role to be a queen. She wants to break-through and rules England Actually she still loves Robert deeply. She says to Robert, "You love me so much that you want me to be your whore!" This shows that she still cares about Robert, but she has no choices. She has to be a powerful queen.

This English movie with the story of English queen is directed by an Indian director Shekhar Kapur whodoes an excellent job. From the eyes of an Indian, he gives a new face to historical movies which usually, are made chronologically. They are narrated in great detail . For Elizabeth, the director uses new techniques. The director adds an interview-like scene of Elizabeth before the ceremony in which the Queen takes over the power from the Catholic church. The scene shows the wisdom of Elizabeth behind others. But when she comes out, she is grand. This shows her character in multiple ways. In addition, , the director makes the movie to be a passionate one which is seldom be seen in other historical movies. Under the strong woman and heavy atmosphere, we can see the passion of all characters. We are not only learning a historical topic, but also going to the heart of Elizabeth while we are watching the movie. Bringing the new face to historical movies is the success of Kapur.

Undoubtedly, the Queen has many followers and these supporting roles are great too . Joseph Fiennes who plays Robert, shows his love to Elizabeth. He suffers as much as Elizabeth does. Christopher Eccleston, who acts as a traitor, also shows his devotion to the Catabolism . When this traitor knows that his lover betrays him, Eccleston's despairing performance is really shocking. Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, who plays the most trustworthy adviser of Elizabeth, is solid. His sophisticated mind is clearly shown. Bloody Mary's character as an insane woman is portrayed successfully by Mary Burke. Overall, the ensemble cast is this movie is of a very high standard.

Besides the achievement of the director and actresses/actors, the music also contributes to the creation of a passionate atmosphere. The music is one of the best in 1998 composing for movies. The composer uses the music with the style of 16^th century to indicate the background. For the love between Elizabeth and Robert, he composes a love theme which is delicate but sad. It is very light but it can make our hearts sink. Of course, the use of Elgar's Nimrod from Enigma Variation to support the complicated feeling of Elizabeth in the last scene is marvellous.

The history of Elizabeth can be written thousand pages. The director and screenplay writer chooses a part of it while the editor makes this movie smooth and exciting. The most impressive part by the editorial work of this movie is the beginning and the finale. The exciting atmosphere of burning is created with the fluent editing. For the last scene, when Elizabeth walks along the way from her private room to the public, the editor edits her previous love scenes with Robert as her memory while she has already married to England at that time. It is the climax of the movie and the film editing contributes to its success .

This passionate movie is produced by a group of crews with passion. The screenplay is detailed and the character of Elizabeth is well portrayed . The cinematography is notable. It shows the beauty of the palaces. The costumes and art direction show the appearance of Englishmen in 16^th century. The make-up is outstanding, especially the "virgin-look" of Elizabeth in the last scene. It won the Oscar last year and it is one of the best in the decade. Overall, this movie is a great production.

All in all, Elizabeth is an excellent movie. It discusses the question between power and love, fate and chances. Elizabeth is bound to be the Queen. She has no choices. This makes her to be a powerful woman. But her power makes her loses love and hence, her heart. Elizabeth, is the most powerful woman in her century, actually suffers greatly. To a certain extent, she breaks the patriarchal society. She can dominate everyone, but she cannot dominate her fate.