The Other Boleyn Girl- movie review

Continuing our education of England during the Elizabethan era is period flick, The Other Boleyn Girl. Similar to the two Elizabeth movies, this fast-paced drama captures the grandeur and politics which unfolded in England during the 16th century. It was the time England severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church, thus establishing the Church of England under the reign of King Henry VIII. This explosive period in history ends with the execution of Queen Anne, the younger Boleyn sister who is found guilty of treason. The movie, which was based on the novel of the same name, depicts how the two sisters played a huge part in that moment in history.Whether you are familiar with the history or not, the story is intriguing as hell: two girls fighting over an adulterous, powerful King and consequently changing history and dearly paying for it all.

But don’t expect a smooth movie experience. The movie lacks an emotional core, unlike recent period flicks- namely Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love and Pride and Prejudice, to name a few. The two Elizabeth movies were more focused and managed to portray a well-rounded character in Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare in Love, though light hearted, had a strong flow of story.

The Other Boleyn Girl suffers from being neither here nor there. Its emotional core is splattered all over the place. It’s one part about love between sisters, one part about influencing men to get what you want, and one part masterminding the procreation of England’s heir.Director Justin Chadwick may have deliberately made it that way. But it would be nice if there was a bit more focus.

In the end, neither lead characters Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and older sister Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson) could hold the movie together. I have not read the book, but I wish the movie version showed a stronger bond between both sisters. Mary was clearly made out to be the stronger of the two. The earthy and sensitive Mary is a shy version of Ripley from Alien: the surprising survivor.

There is a lack of chemistry between Portman and Johansson. The two actresses showed warmth in very few scenes. The only notable scenes between the two women were prior to Anne’s execution. One truthful scene is when both sisters embrace in the lock-up . Other than that scene, you couldn’t really find a deep connection between the two sisters. Or could it be the fault of storyline, in which the two sisters were always feuding because of their differing personalities. But differing personas should make for good drama, right? Not in this drama apparently. There were times that Mary and Anne do not act like sisters. I wished details like this were ironed out before the movie began shooting.

On a high note, the movie is a marvel in terms of costume design, art direction and cinematography. On the last aspect, I thank God every day that viewers need not watch old period pieces on BBC.Directors can now present history with more accuracy and with better, high-tech visuals as compared to their older counterparts.

As with all books-to-screen adaptations, nothing is ever perfect. Unless you are Peter Jackson and making Lord of The Rings, of course.The movie seems tries to cram all details of the book into 114 minutes. The movie’s creators may have had problems condensing the movie tomake it presentable for the masses. I admit, the story is quite complicated.

In a (very very big) nutshell, the story starts with Anne, a witty and conniving girl who is assigned to King Henry VIII to provide a male heir for the throne. The King had been trying for a boy with his queen, Catherine of Aragon. But that effort fails after Queen Catherine givesbirth to a stillborn baby.The plan to hook up the King with Anne fails too: Anne indirectly causes the King to be injured during a hunting expedition. And who comes into the picture? Anne’s earthy and sensitive older sister, Mary, who is already married. Nevertheless, Mary has an affair and falls in love with the young king (he was said to be 31 at the time). Mary ends up pregnant and gives birth to the King’s son.

Meanwhile, Anne is banished to France but returns to England just before Mary gives birth. Anne is under strict instructions to prevent the King from straying to other women during Mary’s pregnancy. Bamm! Anne seduces the King with her wit and stubborness- a stark contrast to Mary’s sensitive personality. Anne persuades the king to annul his marriage to Catherine, so that she could become queen. What? Cannot simply annul marriage under the Roman Catholic Church? No problem for Anne, who persuades King Henry to severe ties with the Church and establish England’s own church. OK… Anne weds King Henry and the former becomes queen.

Anne’s power over King Henry can be encapsulated in a parting advice from the Boleyn mother, Lady Elizabeth (Kristin Scott Thomas) just before Anne isbanished to France: “Learn from the French women in court....they can exult their power onmen not by being their equal, but by convincing men to believe that theyare in charge.”
And boy does Anne influence his man! In the end, Anne pays dearly for her actions. The King becomes angry at her for convincing him to change so much. In one scene, King Henry rapes Anne out of frustration over her conniving ways.

Anne becomes more and more pressured to produce a male heir to the throne. Anne does give birth eventually. She gives birth to a daughter who is named...drumroll please....Elizabeth. Yes, darlings, Anne gives birth to the future great Queen of England. But King Henry is not happy. Things get complicatedwhen Anne desperately wants to produce a boy. Her family’s reputation hangs in the balance as she figures out ways to conceive a boy. She persuades her brother, George, to commit incest, but the siblings do not go through with it. However, George’s wife spies on the two siblings in bedand sees enough to report the matter to the King. That’s when everything goes awry. Anne and her brother George are sentenced to death for incest and treason.

Phewww.....hey, who said making period films was easy? The Other Boleyn Girl may get praises (i.e Oscars) for its technical wondery and costumes. But it would have been nice to have all that coupled with strong direction and better chemistry between the female leads. Johansson may have been more enigmatic in the 2003 film, Lost in Translation. Here, Johansson seems to witholding those acting chops we know she has. And Portman is very good. But even her good acting skills could not save the film as a whole. Though Bana did justice to his King Henry role, we know this Aussie could do better. Simply looking sexy does not make a good performance, dude. Sorry.

And that rape scene? A very delicate scene. It could have been done with more tact. In the movie, the rape scene came out of the blue and only left me more confused. Maybe director Chadwick could have lessen the shock with a bit of rough foreplay first.

Just a suggestion, Justin. But that’s just my opinion. Et vous?