deeper and deeper....

I could not wait to get my hands on the movie Elizabeth after reading all three of Philippa Gregory's novels about this young queen and how she came to be.... Only to be disappointed, big time. 

The story was slightly different from the novels, which I do not hold against the film at all.  Without any formal knowledge on the proper historical background myself, both the film and the novels could be wrong or right for all I know.  What threw me off was how unconvincing the love between Sir Robert Dudley and the young Queen was, and how coldly Elizabeth was portrayed by Cate Blanchett.  I could not feel her passion as I did in the books, nor did I like the way her sister Queen Mary was made out to be a senile, spineless Queen waiting for her death. 

Perhaps I'm prejudiced from reading the book first, or that the film simply just tried to pack too much into a 2-hour film... In any case, the flim did not live up to my expectations, maybe other than the costumes.

This is the second time I've been disappointed by the film version of a great story on paper.  The first one being A Girl With Pearl Earrings.  I can only hope that when Memoirs of a Geisha comes out, it will shine through.