the violence in HBO's compelling "Elizabeth"

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/23/06 at 10:38pm

I come not to codemn but merely to acknowlege -- and possibly warn -- how brutal and unsparingly (appropriately) barbaric the violence is in the very successful HBO mini series with Helen Mirren, part one of which debuted Saturday. The notoriously botched beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, the disemboweling of traitors, and the hand slicing of a loyalist who was too loyal, in a sense -- well, be prepared. This is a very accurate and scary. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. last night, haunted by the death of Mary -- and, to be fair, by the brilliant performance of Mirren as she received the news. Strong stuff, perhaps more honest than many other versions of the familiar story. Don't look for epic visuals, but do expect truthtelling and nothing sentimental in the portrayal of those times.

Updated On: 4/23/06 at 10:38 PM