uninspired petty drama...

Rating: 4/10 (10 March 2008)

The story of this movie surrounds the petty infighting between the two Boleyn sisters vying for the king's affection. The king is portrayed as simply a womanizer who does nothing all day but to please the next lady in his court. The father was a unprincipled merchant who wants to achieve power by selling out his children and the uncle is a calculating duke using the Boleyn children to gain power. The only characters of some decency were the Queen, Lady Elizabeth Boleyn (the mother) and Mary Boleyn. However, their performances were so low key and unemphasized that throughout the entire movie, the overpowering feeling is that everyone is petty, calculating and had very little to do but indulge in personal drama. The plot and the characters made this into a big-screen daytime soap opera. Maybe that was the goal of the story but if you hate pettiness in people, this movie will bore and irritate you at the same time. I really disliked it except for some fancy costumes.