The Other Boleyn Girl

I have read a few things by Philippa Gregory, the author of the novel from which this piece was adapted, and one must remember that she is a romance novelist, a good one that gives us solid plots but a romance novelist none-the-less, and that in itself is what mainly hinders this film.

Most people know the story of Anne Boleyn, the first beheaded wife of Henry VIII. She enthralled the King, caused him to break with Rome and start the Church of England, and gave birth to the great Queen Elizabeth I. This movie tells the story of the other Boleyn girl, Mary. It shows the conspiracy between the Boleyns and Duke of Norfolk to control the King by providing him a mistress since Katherine was unable to produce a viable male heir. He was supposed to fall for Anne who was unmarried and instead he fell for Mary who was already married. She becomes his mistress and bears him an male heir (which I don't think really happened) but then Anne tries to take him away from Mary (Mary actually loves Henry). It becomes a complicated intrigued with the girls pitted against each other for the affection of the King. And their uncle (Duke of Norfolk) bets against both of them. While it is an interesting take on the history of Henry the VIII, its historical correctness is lacking and it is a little too romancey for me.

The costumes were lovely and on par with the Elizabeth: The Golden Age which I had just watched. I loved the fact that they color coded the girls Anne in blue and Mary in Red or Gold (for the most part). The cinematography wasn't as pretty as in the Elizabeth movies, but was well done never-the-less.

The acting was good for the most part Natalie Portman was a quite wonderful Anne Boleyn, she was full of spirit. I wish they had portrayed her more strongly at the end. Scarlett Johansson was a lovely Mary, she was lovely sweet and stood beside her sister no matter the cost to herself. Eric Bana was a sorta bland Henry Tudor, Henry was more passionate and enigmatic man than Bana brings to the character. I was kind of disappointed in his performance. One of my favorite characters in the movie was Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Elizabeth Boleyn. She plays a very strong woman who disapproves of what her husband and brother are doing and fears the consequences for her children. I enjoyed the performances of the actors, they all did very well.

I enjoyed this movie in spite of it historical inaccuracies and romance undertones. It was an enjoyable film, but I probably won't see it again. If you like romances or period pieces then you should like this film. But I would go to the matinee or wait for DVD, I don't know that I would pay full price for this film.