The Other Boleyn Girl

The ever-dependable Steven Mackintosh and Natascha McElhone turned in solid performances to back up Jodhi May's powerful portrayal of the Tudor monarch. Jared Harris' Henry VIII managed to be sympathetic, seductive and tyrannical in turn. The unusual talking-to-camera, reality TV-style direction was a feature that really ought not to have worked but somehow did. As a depiction of the ruthless politics and intrigue of the medieval court, the movie succeeded very well. One word said out of place and heads, quite literally, would roll. A historical film could be said to be good if it increases interest in its subject matter. This fascinating and complex story is sufficient to have the laziest viewer reaching for the history books by the time the closing credits appear.

I'm still amazed that they were able to take such fascinating subject matter and turn out such a dull, miscast and disjointed feature. Switching the ages of the two main female characters didn't help, either. On the plus side, it was enjoyable to see Jared Harris apparently channeling his late father for his role of Henry VIII.

Skip the movie, read the book.

Plainly made for TV, this austere earlier version of Philippa Gregory's revisionist 2001 novel flaunts its small screen origins with swaying camerawork in drab, grainy colours like a Ken Loach docudrama of the 1970s.

Although apparently no more accurate a picture of life at the court of Henry VIII - when he was still relatively young and dashing - than the other bawdy or Technicolored romps that preceded it, it still paints an appropriately harsh and claustrophobic picture of life as it probably really was in sixteenth century England.

Contrary to what the other reviewer here states, this was not meant to be a sweeping vision of history. It was clearly meant as a chamber piece - a chick flick of dark proportions.

While this production does not begin to embrace the scope of Anne's criminal nature, or the greater national ramifications that became of her union with Henry VIII, it doesn't aim to. What it does do, however, is paint a poignant portrait of what it was to be a woman in the 16th century, and how ruthless those days in court were.

I'm a fan of the novel this is based on and am hugely thrilled by this adaptation. It is bold and striking and the lead performance by Jodhi May is one of the most compelling I have ever seen anywhere. It should certainly act as her calling card to producers everywhere that she is more than ready to make the transition from ingenue to adult role. By this performance, I'd say she made the leap long ago.

Jared Harris turns in a dead on performance as the Tudor king who became a tyrant and not the least bit because of his union with Anne Boleyn. The rest in the cast paled in comparison to these two, but that does not mean they turned in poor performances. To the contrary, this was a top notch production I wish greater American audiences could see.

The only glitch for me was toward the end when there is video footage of modern day England, tourists at the Tower of London. I don't get it. But I can forgive one small moment in light of the greater ambition and success of this project.

Period drama should always be so delicious!

If you're looking for historical accuracy, this is not the place to find it. Although entertaining, the plot (amongst other things), is flawed. In the novel, Philippa Gregory seems to portray Anne Boleyn as a bit of a ruthless strumpet with no brains, and Mary appears as some kind of angelic victim, where history states the opposite.

However, it is supposed to be a romantic fiction, and this is achieved well in the TV adaptation.

Jodhi May portrays Anne as passionate and strong-willed - overall an excellent performance. Natasha McElhone's meek representation of Mary certainly gives her credit as a fantastic actress.

Jared Harris plays Henry, and to be honest I wasn't convinced (then again, Keith Michell is the only man I can picture as the king, so I may be somewhat biased). Harris just didn't seem as harsh and regal as I imagine Henry to have been.

I was very impressed by Steven Mackintosh's depiction of Anne and Mary's brother, George Boleyn. His performance during the scene where Anne and Mary are trying to convince him into incest is especially worth seeing, and this really 'brought the character to life' for me, as I never really pondered on his influence before.

What 'The Other Boleyn Girl' does succeed in, is portraying the Boleyn family's ambitious attempts in using Anne and Mary as pawns to grasp the crown, thus obtaining social power via the favour of the King.

Though it seems to tone down the Tudor court in appearance (the costumes are unrealistically plain), this adaptation certainly gives you an idea of the malevolence during the court at the time.

Overall, a nice film to watch. I wouldn't recommend it to history nuts who are likely to complain at the inaccuracy, but it is enjoyable, and well worth watching nonetheless.