THE MOMENT
The Queen leads her men in battle
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Now that Blanchett’s talents were well appreciated, Elizabeth’s 2007 sequel was never going to deliver the same surprise fireworks as its predecessor. The film still boasted the actor’s gravitational pull, as a respected, feared and flirtatious monarch at the top of her game, but the surrounding fabric felt a little saggy in comparison. That is, until Blanchett, astride a handsome white horse in polished armour that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it, takes to the battlefield, the Spanish Armada filling the horizon and her men ready to go to war. The sequence that follows eschews theatrics, instead boasting a foreboding authority as Elizabeth speaks. Blanchett’s delivery must contend with her slightly skittish steed, but she still musters integrity, resulting in scores of soldiers lifting their weapons as Elizabeth promises to “meet again in heaven, or on the field of victory”. Everything had changed for Blanchett in the nine years since Elizabeth had catapulted her into the spotlight, but this moment was a reminder of where it all began: with an enigmatic and totally captivating performance as a peerless leader.