Warrior queen

CATE Blanchett returns to her star-making role in Elizabeth - The Golden Age, a gripping historical drama laced with treachery and romance also stars Clive Owen as dashing seafarer Sir Walter Raleigh.

It is 1585 and, having reigned over England for nearly three decades, Queen Elizabeth I (Blanchett) continues to face bloodlust for her throne and the lingering threat of familial betrayal.

A channel away, a destructive wind of fundamentalist Catholicism blows across 16th century Europe, with Spain's Philip II (Jordi Molla), its figurehead. Backed by the Church in Rome and armed with the Inquisition, Philip - with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada -presents an imminent threat to Queen and Country.

The dark and pious king is determined to wrest the Protestant "heretic" from the throne and restore England to the glory that is the Roman Catholic Church.

Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth also struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Raleigh - despite his status as a commoner - who remains forbidden for a Queen sworn body and soul to her country.

Unable and unwilling to pursue her passion, Elizabeth encourages her favoured lady-in-waiting, Bess (Abbie Cornish), to befriend Raleigh.

But such a strategy places Elizabeth at the centre of their courtship, where she has no choice but to observe their growing intimacy. In the dashing and adventurous Raleigh, she sees not only an intellectual and spirited equal, but also a clarion of lands beyond, the unexplored globe, infinite freedom.

By electing Bess to take her place, she is ultimately forced to make the anguishing choice between being a woman and being a Queen.

And as she charts her course abroad, Elizabeth's trusted advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), continues his masterful puppetry of her court at home. Through an intricate spy network, Walsingham uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne. But as he unmasks traitors that may include Elizabeth's own cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), he unknowingly sets England on a course of destruction.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age is the story of one woman's crusade to control love, crush enemies and secure her position as a beloved icon of the Western world.

During production of 1998's Elizabeth, the filmmakers discussed the idea of telling the story of Elizabeth I - from the young girl to the Queen who ruled nearly 45 years - in a trilogy of films.

Producer Tim Bevan says: "Elizabeth the First's entire reign could not be told effectively in one film-it was so long and so much happened during it, and she encountered so many extraordinary people."

Encouraged by the critical and commercial success of Elizabeth, the discussions continued over the intervening years, and writers Michael Hirst (who penned the first film) and William Nicholson were commissioned to work on the screenplay that would become Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Director Shekhar Kapur believes that "by delving into history, you wind up telling a contemporary story about ourselves. Why make a film today that is not relevant to today's times? Why make a film that's not relevant to today's individual, political or psychological attitudes?

"Elizabeth: The Golden Age is about Cate Blanchett, who is interpreting Elizabeth for modern times. It's about the conflict between fundamentalism and tolerance, the search for the self, divinity. It's about mortality and immortality. It's all things we deal with in our personal lives every day."

Blanchett was not immediately attracted to the idea of returning to the role and had to be persuaded by the filmmakers.

"I've learned much more about filmmaking since Elizabeth," says the actress. "That said, it is a tricky role and there are times when I thought I've got it all wrong and I wanted to start again.

"I think that's the testament to a really powerful, complex character - there are an infinite number of ways you can approach her and because film is temporal, this is the way we chose to do it at the time. Elizabeth is a character who continues to fascinate people; it's why so many versions of her life have been told. What is revealed about her depends on where you shine the light.

"Elizabeth had a vigilant sense of self-control. She was very controlling about her image. What the film deals with, among other themes, is that as she began to age, her availability to be married and form alliances with other countries - a very powerful weapon - was ebbing away. It deals with the political pressure, as well as pressure from within."