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Rival Sisters Duke It Out for the Passion of a King
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: February 29, 2008
More slog than romp, “The Other Boleyn Girl” tells the salacious story of two hot blue bloods who ran amok and partly unclothed in the court of Henry VIII. Best known for losing her head to the king, first metaphorically, then literally, Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman, saucy), along with her sister, Mary (Scarlett Johansson, sedate), entered the court of the king (Eric Bana, brooding and glowering) when he was still wed to Catherine of Aragon (Ana Torrent). A man of considerable and changeable appetites, the king yearned for a male heir and anything in a frock who wasn’t the queen. His sexual wish was their command.
According to this oddly plotted and frantically paced pastiche — written by Peter Morgan, directed by Justin Chadwick — the girls were more or less the Paris and Nicky Hilton of the Tudor court. In the film’s version of the Boleyn family saga, based on the novel by Philippa Gregory of the same title, they were pimped out by their scheming, ambitious father, Sir Thomas (a spidery Mark Rylance), who sought to advance the family on the backs of his daughters while Mrs. Sir Thomas (Kristin Scott Thomas) clucked darkly from the sidelines. Forced to compete for kingly favors, the women were soon rivals, a contest that, in its few meagerly entertaining moments, recalls the sisterly love in “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”
The story of Anne Boleyn may sound as if it’s been cut from classier cloth than that delirious Robert Aldrich film, but history tells a juicier story. One of Anne’s biographers, Joanna Denny, writes that while at the French court Mary got around (she was “passed on from man to man”), which I don’t remember from high school or public television. Instead of letting the story rip, though, the film plays it safe and predictable by dividing the sisters into the bad brunette and gentle blonde, thereby displacing the courtly intrigue onto two warring women. The Boleyn sisters were the kind of trouble that can make for bodice-ripping entertainment, but they were also the kind of unruly women who sometimes risked burning.
Anne faced the sword, not the stake, but that’s jumping ahead of this story and its galloping horses, bustling gowns and rampaging royals. It’s a marvel that something that feels so inert should have so much frenetic action. Shot in high-definition video with a murky brown palette (perhaps to suggest tea-stained porcelain and teeth), the film is both underwritten and overedited. Many of the scenes seem to have been whittled down to the nub, which at times turns it into a succession of wordless gestures and poses. Given the generally risible dialogue, this isn’t a bad thing, despite Mr. Morgan’s previous credits (notably “The Queen”). Ms. Portman’s eyes, Mr. Bana’s hands and Ms. Johansson’s chin all receive vigorous workouts.
“The Other Boleyn Girl” has been rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Roving hands, rolling heads.
another comments:
- OMG! Horrible
The film is pretty that is all that can be said about it positively. Historically it takes far too many liberties from the truth. Natalie Portman is a horrible Anne Boleyn. And while Johansen is a better actress Mary Bolyen was far from the saint she portrays. Anne was extraordinarily intelligent yet this movie's version of her has her depth represented to peak at sibling rivalry. Months at French court? Try years. History provides the story which obviously is realistic. Must screen writers dumb it down to the point where anyone with a history education must be frustrated and insulted? Anne of a Thousand Days is an excellent movie. Rent it. On this one- pass.– viqosity
- Much better than we were led to believe.
This movie delivered more than the critics above and the Times critic suggests. I understand that the movie is not historically accurate. It is based on history. The movie is beautifully filmed. The costumes are wonderful. I didn't feel that the acting was in the least bit over done. The Boleyn story is Shakespearean. All the cardinal sins are on display.... The intrigue of life at Henry VIII's court and the fear of women who could not produce a male heir is a nightmare to watch unfold. The movie works for me....it gets four stars only because it doesn't get the history perfectly....– Bernie , Liberty, Missouri
06:13PM TH
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