Elizabeth

Elizabeth (1998) is a political thriller you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Shekhar Kapur. The tagline says it plainly: "Declared illegitimate aged 3. Tried for treason aged 21. Crowned Queen aged 25." Cate Blanchett plays the young queen in the performance that launched her international career and earned her first Oscar nomination.

The film opens with England fractured by religion and surrounded by enemies. Spain, France and Rome all have designs on the throne. Elizabeth's own council is more interested in marrying her off than governing. Her only trusted companion is Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes), a relationship she must eventually sacrifice for power. Geoffrey Rush plays the cold-blooded spymaster Francis Walsingham who becomes her most effective weapon. The cast also includes Richard Attenborough, John Gielgud, Daniel Craig and Vincent Cassel.

Kapur shot Tudor England not as pageantry but as a dark thriller about a woman forging herself into a ruler. The film earned seven Academy Award nominations and won BAFTA for Best Film. Watch Elizabeth (1998) online on iFILM.