An historically honest film, if a painfully dull one. It suffers from the nearly completely lackluster casting. The one bright spot is Sean Biggerstaff as Bothwell, a much better actor than his CV might suggest, which almost makes it worse. The film likely would have been better received had the entire cast suffered from the same quality of dullness, but Biggerstaff is so natural and unaffected that everyone around him appears even more contrived and wooden. He's a diamond against cheap black crepe, easily and unintentionally outshining everyone in any scene he's in, though Edward Hogg comes closest to giving him a run for his money.
His French is atrocious, though.
Worth seeing if you've two hours to kill, low expectations, and/or want to see a clear juxtaposition of masterful acting against mediocre acting.
