Should have been called Leicester & Essex!

Quite frankly, I was a little disappointed in this version of Elizabeth I. Although Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons acted superbly, I was saddened to find that the movie covered only Elizabeth's relationships with both the Earl of Leicester, and his stepson, the Earl of Essex.

The movie begins some time into Elizabeth's reign and does cover the Spanish Armada and Mary Queen of Scots, but not to the extent that their place in history would demand. Indeed, all we see of the Armada is s brief glimpse of Sir Francis Drake and one ship coming up the Thames bearing news of victory! Sir Walter Raleigh suffers the same fate as does England's miscalculated sojourn to Ireland. Another problem I had with this version is Helen Mirren's portrayal of Elizabeth ... was she quite so frolicsome and frivolous with the Earls infront of her courtiers?

Having said all this, the movie was well acted out, well made and contained believable scenery depicting the Elizabethan age. Recommended for the period drama buff.