THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (12A)
10:52am Wednesday 12th March 2008
WHY is it that three quintessentially English roles have gone to a couple of Americans and one Australian? Having just won two substantial Oscars this year it must be plain for any idiot to see that Britain has talent. So when this film's director Justin Chadwick says they were just perfect for the roles because "they're great actors", it sticks in my craw. Though it is fair to say the Australian Cate Blanchett did a fine job as Queen Elizabeth I, I still think that it is insulting to Americans to assume they would be unable to cope with an unknown name in the lead, but it is an even greater insult to us. We have a treasure trove of talent in this country that is struggling to get noticed in a profession in which 88% are out of work. But we also have a myriad of big names as well, so shame on you Mr. Chadwick.
After Queen Katherine of Aragon (Ana Torrent) has yet another miscarriage Henry VIII (Eric Bana) becomes even more desperate and determined to have a male heir. The Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey) decides this is the perfect opportunity to keep things in the family and consults his brother-in-law Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance) on the matter. It is decided that Sir Thomas's daughter Anne (Natalie Portman) will be encouraged to flirt with the King and hopefully become his mistress. Though it must be said that Sir Thomas's wife Lady Elizabeth (Kristin Scott Thomas) is wholeheartedly against the idea. Things don't go according to plan as Anne's rash behaviour causes Henry to fall off his horse resulting in him sustaining a fractured ego. But he is taken with Anne's younger married sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) when she is sent to tend his wounds. Seducing her with gentle persuasion, Henry compares the fact they are both second siblings as a mutual bonding. So Mary, plus her consenting husband Sir William Carey (Benedict Cumberbatch) are installed at Court, and Anne is banished to France by her family due to her unfortunate secret marriage to Henry Percy (Oliver Coleman). But when Mary is confined to bed with a troubled pregnancy Anne is brought home and makes her play for Henry's affections in a horribly manipulative and seductive way.
We have here a very good-looking film, with its fair share of inaccuracies, for example Mary was the elder sister, not the younger. But as there is no one around to verify the actual events I suppose it is all up to a certain mount of speculation. I have had about enough of Johansson who lately has been just replaying her most effective part in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (2003) over and over again. The thought of her next appearance as "Mary Queen of Scots" is more than a little irritating as I no longer think she has the scope needed for such a part. Portman's accent is as uneven as it was in V for Vendetta (2005), though to be fair both Bana's and Johansson's pronunciations are good. Bana's Henry comes across as a little too weak for my liking, but all the rest of the cast are good. Torrent gives a particularly strong and compelling performance, as the tragically wronged Queen and Scott Thomas, Rylance and Morrissey are all excellent. The first half works much better than the second, which is so rushed that anyone who knows the story will switch off, and anyone who doesn't, may become confused.
Clare Shepherd 6/10