mercy, and was very reluctant to order him executed. When she finally did, it was to “strengthen her determination to keep the fate of Mary entirely in her own hands” (Johnson). Elizabeth eventually had Mary executed after the Babington Plot of 1586 to murder her. A papal bull of 1570 did release Elizabeth’s subjects from their allegiance, which caused Elizabeth to pass harsh laws against Roman Catholics when plots against her life were discovered. The “Godfatheresque” sequence in Elizabeth is a well-done action sequence that is very entertaining, although inaccurate. Perhaps the filmmakers wanted to culminate all of the conspiracies against Elizabeth into one single conspiracy, in order to create a more powerful climax. The movie accomplishes in showing that Elizabeth had to be careful whom she trusted, because many people were secretly plotting against her. The involvement of Dudley is exaggerated, and also the film suggests the involvement and execution of the Earl of Sussex, who was actually never involved in any conspiracy against Elizabeth. He was a devoted subject of the Queen and remained so until his (natural) death. The end of the film shows Elizabeth cutting off her long hair, painting herself white, and reluctantly becoming a “Virgin Queen,” and “marrying England.” This decision is portrayed as a spur-of-the-moment one resulting from her discovery of the large and elaborate conspiracy against her that includes Dudley. Her decision seems to come mainly from her realization that a man for whom she loves has plotted to kill her, and she decides that she can trust no man. She keeps Dudley alive and close to her, only to remind herself how close she came to danger. As previously mentioned, Dudley was not involved in a killing conspiracy, and Elizabeth kept a close relationship with him. One major flaw of the movie is that it shows her decision to become a virgin ...
