Portman and Johansson: Girls Fighting for Love

Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but it's not. It's actually the key players of The Other Boleyn Girl that is chock full of love, sex, politics, and sibling rivalry.

A lot is known about Anne Boleyn and her relationship with Henry VIII, but the same can not be said about Mary. Not much is truly known about Mary Boleyn, except for the fact that she is Anne's sister and the former mistress of Henry VIII. In Philippa Gregory's novel of the same name, Mary is featured prominently as a young woman submerged in a family political chess game with her being the King's prize. At first she resists playing her part, but she soon submits to it once she sees the benefits of being the King of England's mistress.

The other aspect that the book and film both focus on is the complex relationship between sisters Mary and Anne. One minute they are supporting each other's happiness, and the next they are cursing each other's existence. The film starts off Anne (Natalie Portman) getting her younger sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) ready for her wedding day. She tries to advise Mary, but is soon focused on her own ascension in society. Her family's plans for Anne to be Henry VIII's (Eric Bana) mistress goes awry due to Anne's need to compete in a sporting event. Enter Mary who soon becomes his mistress and mother to an illegitimate son. Re-enter Anne after an exile in France ready to take her place, and that she does in record time. Unlike Mary, Anne wants to be more than a mistress. She wants to be queen, but her family wonders what her latest maneuver will cost them. What they don't know is that they will lose everything in order to make Anne queen and keep her on the throne. The film profiles Anne's rapid rise to the throne, and her untimely demise.

Surprisingly, Portman and Johansson both broke their career stereotypes to play parts they never played before. Many would assume that Portman's Anne would take center stage, but it is actually Johansson's Mary that stole the show. She is the stabilizing center between two egocentric people: a sister and a former lover. Usually Johansson portrays the dominating sexpot that beguiles men to madness, but instead she displays Mary as a quiet submissive longing for love. She loves her family, but does not want to be forced into making life altering decisions unless she is at the helm. Johansson's biggest weakness is that her expressions did not evolve beyond youthful naivety, even when Mary decides to take charge of her life.

Portman's Anne is a welcome departure of the youthful roles from past films. She portrays Anne as the ultimate risk taker, a social climber of sorts. She does not just want to obtain a higher position in society by accident. She wants to steamroll anyone that gets in her way, including Mary. At one point of the film, Mary argues about their sisterly bond in reaction to her betrayal. Anne simply responds, "And therefore born to be rivals." Portman makes Anne a feminist warrior struggling to gain control of her life beyond being a pawn to her family. She makes Anne crumble under the weight of the pressure to please the king and ultimately losing her life over it. When her inner child comes out, Anne clings to Mary like she is her last remaining life line, which in a way she is when the rest of the family deserts her.

The film's weakest acting link is Bana, because his screen time is rather limited. He does not get much of a chance to explore Henry's need for a male heir and a trusted queen to rule beside him. His Henry is a medieval version of Hugh Hefner by going through mistresses like they are cheap toys only there for his amusement. The only real time Bana shows any genuine emotion is during his scenes with Johansson. Those scenes demonstrate that Henry and Mary are two equals confiding in each other in ways that no one else would understand. Bana has some chemistry with Portman, but their scenes are too brief to leave any real impact.

Another sad disappointment is the fact that the movie is surprisingly too short. This is usually the opposite in the case of some films, because there is so much story that it is best to leave some of it on the cutting room floor. Ironically, this Girl should have been extended by at least another fifteen to twenty minutes to flesh out more of the book's intriguing plot points. Despite this, the movie is still intriguing even though the ending is already known before the first scene finishes.

In conclusion, Portman and Johansson are believable as sisters battling for the love of a king. Hopefully, this won't be the only time these actresses share the screen, because that would be the ultimate tragedy to the Hollywood "monarchy."