THEN AND NOW, `ELIZABETH' RULES.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

So you think Clinton is a criminal? Think Prince Charles is too creepy to be king?

These guys are Boy Scouts compared to Queen Elizabeth I. And amateurs, if the calculating and ruthless monarch of ``Elizabeth'' is at all an accurate depiction. Designed like a mob movie and capricious, in a very smart way, with presumed history, it's a wised-up, very modern look at politics of the most pragmatic and wicked sort.

Written by historian Michael Hirst and directed by Shekhar Kapur, who made the furiously energetic Indian film ``Bandit Queen,'' ``Elizabeth'' may shock those who hold a dainty view of things royal. If you're familiar with the War of the Roses; the divorce-by-decapitation policy of Elizabeth's dad, Henry VIII; or at least, ``Braveheart,'' you won't be too surprised to learn that the Virgin Queen secured her throne atop a heap of deceptions, strong-arm tactics and assassinations.

The debatable concept here is that Elizabeth was not a virgin, but had to become one in order to command the respect of the many men who threatened her power. Maybe true, maybe not, but the idea makes for fascinating contemporary resonances. Any woman (and probably a lot of men) who has ever had to choose between love or family and career will relate.

Of course, all of this would be quite too theoretical if it wasn't presented in the context of a witty, lusty, ripping good thriller. Focusing on the years just before and after the 25-year-old Elizabeth was crowned in 1558, the film has more palace and romantic intrigues than the Tower of London has jewels.

Elizabeth is played by the smart Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who was so impressive as the feminist Victorian gambler in ``Oscar and Lucinda.'' As that film proved, despite her delicate features, Blanchett can assume a sublime poker face - and that more than anything is the key to Elizabeth's ascendance here.

We first see her as a young woman in love with the dashing Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester (Joseph Fiennes, Ralph's less-brooding brother). But she's also worried, and for good reason. Her resentful, pitiful half-sister, Queen Mary (Kathy Burke), is forcibly trying to move England back into the Catholic fold, and as Anne Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth is not only the living symbol of the Protestant break, she's a stubborn supporter of the Church of England.

Elizabeth survives a stint in the Tower to succeed Bloody Mary, but her position is shaky. Mary of Guise (Fanny Ardant), the French-born queen of Scotland, is moving south with a formidable army. Many of the young queen's own nobles, led by the shifty Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston), are actively sabotaging the crown's cause, both on the field of battle and closer to home. Meanwhile, the Pope (John Gielgud, enjoying himself immensely) has essentially taken out a hit on the red-haired upstart.

Elizabeth relies on a series of male figures to guide her through this labyrinth of treachery. There's Dudley, of course, though he's hiding something. Then there's the well-meaning, fatherly Sir William Cecil (Richard Attenborough), who knows the ins and outs of marriage-based diplomacy but doesn't have the imagination to keep up with Elizabeth's exponentially expanding shrewdness. The guy who does get her - and who can nudge her to the next levels - is Sir Francis Walsingham (``Shine's'' Geoffrey Rush), a kind of 16th-century combination of Henry Kissinger, James Carville and Michael Corleone.

But it is Elizabeth herself who ultimately decides who she can and cannot trust, what hands to play and when, and, most poignantly, what the once-happy girl has to sacrifice in order to survive and rule effectively. Some steps of this evolution seem skipped - she shifts too abruptly from nervous and naive to confident and commanding in a couple of scenes. But the overall growth arc is fascinating to watch, often because Blanchett makes us feel the loss of what must be left behind.

Employing great stone castles for all their unsettling clamminess, Kapur maintains an tense tone through a wide range of incidents that involve everything from a poisoned dress to a cross-dressing suitor. Whirligig, disorienting camerawork gradually gives way to more settled coverage as Elizabeth grows to master the daunting complications of her situation.

The film ultimately makes a compelling case for at least keeping the ``Was she or wasn't she?'' question open. Well-judged; to be more insistent would simply not have been proper.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Elizabeth'' (R; violence, sex, nudity, language).

The stars: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston, Richard Attenborough, Kathy Burke.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Shekhar Kapur. Written by Michael Hirst. Produced by Alison Owen, Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan. Released by Gramercy Pictures.

Running time: Two hours, four minutes.

Playing: Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood; AMC Century 14, Century City; AMC 7, Santa Monica.

Our rating: Three and one half stars.

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Photo

Photo: In ``Elizabeth,'' Joseph Fiennes (yes, he's Ralph's brother) is the admiring Earl of Leicester to Cate Blanchett's Virgin Queen.