From the start of the film we are introduced to Elizabeth with her dancing in the fields, as a care free young woman. You notice straight away that Elizabeth has a naturally fresh face with no make-up on and her hair down. It already shows the Princess has an innocent and almost naive of what's around her.
As the film goes on we see Elizabeth I being given power because of her half-sister Mary dying from a tumour, so instantly she is being asked to chose between her own beliefs or what is right for England. With the Chief Advisor, William Cecil urging Elizabeth to find a husband to help her secure her title as Queen, no one knows that Elizabeth has already started an affair with Robert Dudley. Later on in the film Elizabeth finds out that Dudley is already married, which then leads her to become harsher and rather ruthless with her actions as if she is putting a barrier up around her emotions to protect herself.
I found that I saw a massive change of Elizabeth from the start of the film and to the end of it. Starting with a young care free Elizabeth, by the end you see her almost withdrawn from her body. In the last scenes you see the her having her hair cut of by an upset servant, who is clearly reluctant to cut off her gorgeous strawberry blonde hair. Elizabeth remains completely emotionless whilst the hair falls down beside her. The very last scene of film you see Elizabeth walking down to her throne, she announces she is married to England but again she shows no emotion.
How does her make-up change?
Within in the first few days of being in power, you already start to see a change in her appearance. Even though Elizabeth still has her young fresh face, her hair is put up and shows off her facial features.
Rather quickly we see Elizabeth change from her naturally pale face with rosy cheeks to just a pale face. It's as if her former self is disappearing in front of our own eyes, but from this point her make-up does not change. Throughout the film you never see her It is consistent till the very end of the film when cuts all her hair off. When she walks down to her throne in the very last scene, you notice that Elizabeth is covered in a thick white paint with added blusher to give her rosy cheeks again. By the end you notice how much the make-up has aged her since the start of the film. With the white make-up it makes Elizabeth look rather harsh and after she banned Dudley from her life, she decides to be more ruthless. It was also rumoured that the make-up was to help cover up scars after she had gotten small pox.
It has a very accurate portrayal of Elizabeth, especially when you compare 'Elizabeth - 1998' film to other films/documentaries. But there was rumours Queen Elizabeth was actually a male. Sources (Natgeo youtube video link here) say that the white make-up was used to cover up masculine features, including stubble.
Elizabeth announcing she would not marry, was a huge matter in the 16th century, as she would not leave her throne to anyone.
To this day Elizabeth has been seen a big mystery to everyone and there are many questions left unanswered.
I think the film represents Elizabethan era in the perfect way, with the sets and costumes perfect to what it would have looked like back then. With gorgeous dresses and hairstyles, I personally feel like the film lives up to what it should be.
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