Neither The Best Nor The Worst Of The Many Tudor Movies

Rating: 6/10 (26 January 2009)

For a dynasty that only lasted a little over a century (although in that relatively short span of time it produced 5 monarchs - or 6, if you count Jane Grey - including two of the greatest in Henry VIII and Elizabeth I) the Tudors have had a disproportionate impact on both history and Hollywood. "The Other Boleyn Girl" is the latest in the Tudor-inspired collection of films. It's not the best of the bunch (I'd personally give that place to "Lady Jane") but it's also not the worst. It features an excellent performance from Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn and also from Scarlett Johansson as her younger sister Mary. Yes, it perhaps has too much of a soap opera type feel to it (although that tends to be the way we regard the British monarchy today as well) but it is interesting and I thought it portrayed a believable account of the complicated relationship between the two Boleyn girls as they competed for the attention and love of Henry VIII, played by Eric Bana, who I thought failed to nail that part as well as he could have, but who wasn't bad. I also thought that Ana Torrant gave a pretty good performance as Henry's first Queen, the unfortunate Catharine of Aragon.
The reconstruction of 16th century England (in the sets and the costumes) was well done, while some of the dialogue was, frankly, less than engrossing. To modern eyes, the most unsettling thing about the movie might be the way in which the Boleyn girls were used as pawns by their own father and uncle - knowingly sent off to the royal court to be sexual playthings for the king (even though Mary was already married) - in order to gain the family favour and status. Even having said that, it's difficult to feel too much sympathy for them - especially for Anne, who is portrayed as a master manipulator who would willingly sell out anyone to fulfill her dream of becoming England's Queen. As I said, this is neither the best nor the worst "Tudor movie" you'll find, but it is a decent enough movie - not a masterpiece, but worth a couple of hours to see it through. 6/10