“The Other Boleyn Girl,” the adaptation of Philippa
Gregory’s novel, promises to be a story of seduction, adultery, betrayal and
murder, about Queen Anne Boleyn’s sister, Mary, the “other” from the title, who
was also one-time mistress of King Henry VIII.
No, it’s not a history lesson that you’ve missed; it’s just
Gregory’s imagination. And what an imagination I might add!
Set during the reign of Henry VIII (Eric Bana), a defining
moment in England’s
history, two sisters Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson)
Boleyn have to win the affection of the King due to the ambitions of their
father and uncle, played by Mark Rylance and David Morrissey.
Forced to leave the simple life in the country side, the two
see themselves thrown in the swirl of the dangerous life in court.
Soon the two sisters become rivals for the heart of the King
and forget that they are merely pawns in the hands of their parents who have
only one interest: social status.
At first Mary, the mild and blonde one, wins the affection
of Henry and becomes his mistress. She also gives him an illegitimate son and
falls in love with the king.
But Anne, the shrewd, becomes jealous at her sister’s success
and plans to win Henry.
Her real interest in the court is in fact the crown.
Using the art of manipulation she learned from her stay in France, Anne
refuses Henry’s advances only to gain him.
Little by little, through cleverness and shrewdness, she
succeeds to push back her sister as well as Henry’s wife, Catherine of Aragon
(Ana Torrent). Henry even establishes his own church in order to marry Anne.
But will all know by now how that marriage ends.
In the meantime, England is torn apart as the King
is surrounded by liars.
The Boleyn girls, even though find themselves battling, one
for her true love, the other for ambition, remain bonded through their blood
connection.
This is actually the second adaptation of the book, the
first one was made in 2003 by BBC.
The 2008 version was written by Peter Morgan, who also wrote
the screenplay for “The Queen” and a 2003 TV version of “Henry VIII.”
Director Justin Chadwick succeeds in taking to the screen
Gregory’s novel even though at one point it seems a little bit too much of Anne
and her ambitions: sex and greed. Anne even takes it to incest in order to
offer Henry his heir, with her brother, George.
Maybe you will say that the close-ups are too many, probably
from Chadwick’s work on television and, let’s say it, gorgeous Johansson and
Portman, who do their best to play such complex characters.
The movie also presents us how the women were treated in
that era: mere pawns used for social and financial advancement.
Another great appearance in the movie is Kristin Scott
Thomas, as their mother, whose role is sadly reduced to just nodding and
sighing and leaving you to wonder how that happened. Let’s not forget that this
is the second time Thomas plays Johansson’s mother, the first time in “The
Horse Whisperer.”
Bana plays rather a mild Henry VIII and leaves you wondering
why the two even bother fighting over him.
For all of you who missed history lesson on England Henry
VIII was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 21
April 1509 until his death on 28 January 1547. He was an avid gambler and dice
player and practiced many sports in his youth. Henry married his brother
Arthur's widow, Catherine, on 11 June 1509. Due to the fact that Catherine
couldn’t offer Henry an heir he got involved with Anne Boleyn.
He divorced Catherine and secretly married Boleyn, who was
crowned Queen of England on June 1st 1533 and gave birth to a daughter,
Elizabeth (Elizabeth I of England),
three months later. Rumors are that Mary (Anne's sister) Boleyn's two children
were fathered by Henry VIII.
But you can also turn to ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ for a
more appealing lesson.
