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The Other Boleyn Girl [2008]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk

A tale of two sisters competing for the same king, The Other Boleyn Girl uses historical facts as window dressing for this work of fiction that is entertaining, if not wholly believable. Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is the doe-eyed vixen ordered by her power-hungry uncle to bewitch King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Her shy sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) has always been in Anne's shadow; Anne is prettier, more accomplished, and desired by many men. So when the King picks Mary--the "other Boleyn girl"--as his mistress, Anne turns on her sister and schemes to become not only the King's consort, but his new queen. With a pair of American actresses in the lead roles and an Aussie portraying their hunky object of desire, the English accents are all over the place in this period piece with a modern feel. Though the Boleyn girls' mother points out that her "daughters are being traded like cattle for the advancement of men," it is Anne who ultimately throws her slight weight around to bully Henry into doing her bidding. When he begs her to give herself to him, Anne--wearing a Carrie Bradshaw-esque "B" pendant on her neck--counters, "Make me your Queen." Is the audience really supposed to believe that Henry the VIII--the most powerful man in the land--would divorce Catherine of Aragon, separate from the Catholic church, and put England in upheaval simply because Anne refused to sleep with him until he jumped through all her hoops? "I have torn this country apart for you," he hisses at her before finally getting his way. Based on Philippa Gregory's bestselling novel of the same name, The Other Boleyn Girl features an attractive cast and a familiar plot with some icky twists. Kieran McGuigan's cinematography is breathtaking and is as crucial to setting the film's tone as the dialogue. Actually, it fares better: Lines such as "Well? Did he have you?!" sound almost comical. But the sweeping shots of Henry's kingdom and the carefully framed close-ups of Portman and Johansson are breathtaking in their beauty and say what words simply cannot. --Jae-Ha Kim



astounding movie. - 4 1/2
Review date: 2008-11-26 Rating: 8 out of 10

I was bowled over by this film. It really is a little gem in the history of film. The performances from all three leading characters were superb and the storyline was totally tragic. I cannot believe that the monarchy operated in such a dreadfully inhumane way towards women who tragically lost babies or did not produce the right sex for an heir.It makes me thankful to be alive in this day and age and realise that we as women are equal to men. A tragedy was that of Anne Boleyn who in reality did nothing wrong except produce a girl instead of a boy. I really recommend this film, its something that doesn't come along everyday.

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Reviews


A Little Dissapointing
Review date: 2008-11-26 Rating: 6 out of 10

I'd read Phillipa Gregory's novel some years ago so was really excited to see they'd adapted it for the big screen. Delved into it one Sunday afternoon with something resembling a child waiting for Christmas morning.

This film looks spectacular - it is beautifully filmed and the costumes are wonderful. I thought the performance of Natalie Portman was excellent but was really disappointed by the somewhat simpering portrayal of Mary and the huge ommissions made from the screenplay that were fascinating in the novel such as the relationship between Mary and her first husband and her subsequent second marriage which brought her much happiness.

I remember getting really into the film and then realising that before Anne had even given birth the film had only around 20 minutes to go and started to think 'Hold on, how on earth are they going to squeeze miscarriages, a trial, execution into that timeframe' and genuinely the last 30 minutes of the film do feel a little rushed - not sure why filmmakers think we are unable to concentrate beyond a 90 minute timeframe - you could have easily got another hours worth of film out of this story which would have made a better all round film.

Good but not quite what I expected.



Dreadful!!!
Review date: 2008-11-24 Rating: 2 out of 10

I was sceptical about this film having loved the book so much and my instincts were correct. This film is historically inaccurate missing out huge parts of the plot and for such a facinating era this film is positively DULL!! The actors lacked the charisma which oozes out of the book. My advice - read the book!!!

Alright but book is better.
Review date: 2008-11-16 Rating: 6 out of 10

The film was a bit of a let down because they missed what I thought was several key points of the book. However it is a good film to see.

Terrible! just terrible!!!
Review date: 2008-11-14 Rating: 2 out of 10

WARNING! Please Do not judge the book by this utterly rubbish film!
I am so glad I am not the only one who felt annoyed by this film. I am a Greggory fan and The Other Bolyn girl was the first of her books I read and I thought it was fantastic! I was so excited about this film coming out and was so sad I missed it at the cinema. I bought the DvD and sat down with a nice cup of hot chocolate to watch it. By the end of the film my cosy mood was completely ruined as sheer frustration took over!!!

First of all the film is not even slightly related to the book, it is a completely different story all together. The script writting is dismal actually shockingly so. The books focus is on Mary and that is what made the book unique and interesting. The film is focused on Anne and Henry with Mary as a sideline throughout. All of the things that made the book good are missed out in this film and it is nothing more than a stupid, predictable, account of the Henry and Anne relationship. The historical inaccuracies are laughable they do not even stick to the brilliant poetic licence that Phillapa used in her book. The script was rushed, bodged and put together SO badly that they missed out crucial bits so that the whole film made no sense at all. For example: One minute Mary is married to her first husband William Carey, then suddenly near the end she is asked by William Stafford (who had hardly appeared throughout the whole film) to run off with him. No mention that her husband had died, No build up of the relationship between Mary and Stafford! It was just crazy!!!
I blame the script writter most of all for this disaster of a film, but the editing was shabby too, The directer clearly lost the plot. The costumes were ok but too few, they wore the same costumes over and over in too many scenes. I think the BBCs "The Tudors" costumes were far superior. My only slight positive was that some of the casting was reasonable. I think Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson could have been excellent in these roles, their acting was not good in this production but if they had a better, less cringe worthy script???? Who knows. I think they were too big for this rubbishly made film.
It should have been so good :( but I now hope they don't EVER make another one that spoils the book like this again.

PANTS! basically the whole thing, don't buy it!!! and if you don't take my word for it please read the other reviews on here as they say things better than I can. especially Gabrielle Bowie's "Nursie".

Oh and in my opinion despite some annoying historical inaccuracies BBCs The Tudors is a far far better.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
David Morrissey
Natalie Portman
Eric Bana
Scarlett Johansson
Ana Torrent

Creators:
Natalie Portman (Primary Contributor)
Ana Torrent (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
EAN: 5050582550498
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-06-30
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 111 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2008

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