Movie Review: The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

I found this movie so stirring that it is hard to comment on it. It is so fresh in my mind. I can not decide how well I liked it, though I most definently can't say it was a bad movie.

Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson were good and that means a lot because I am not particularly fond of either (especially not Johansson), but it is Natalie Portman who REALLY surprised me. I'm not a fan of hers. I think the only other thing I've seen her in is the first new Star Wars and that was years ago when it came out.

She was very impressive. I thought her acting was incredible.

Of course, anyone with the slightest knowledge of history will know how it ends, but that doesn't make it less captivating.

The only characters in the story with any real morals, however, is the Boleyn mother ( who bears a resemblence to Cher). Henry's first wife is other. I truly felt sorry for her. The Boleyn uncle and father are particularly twisted.

Critics seem obsessed with labeling films "dark" but I think here is a film that fits that label. There is a lot going on in this film and little of it "light."

The PG-13 rating was stretched to the max. It really bordered on being R, you just never saw any nudity.

Jim Sturgess, who plays George Boleyn was the only person that I thought didn't seem to fit the time period. He was likeable howver, and he did the part well. He just seemed to belong in jeans, not tights.

I don't know how it compares to history entirely, though I think it's fairly accurate, it probably deviates some as most historical movies do. But I did feel that there were a few things that could have been elaborated on. Where was Mary's son all the time she was back at court? What ever happened to Mary's husband?

As I said, it's so fresh in my mind I am not sure how to rate this movie. It is a well made movie though and - I think - worth watching. The cinematography and costumes are definently beautiful and - again - Natalie Portman was fantastic.