A historical character study that is beautifully-designed...

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2009)

I saw this last year when I was 16, at the cinema with my mum and my sister, and I must say we were impressed. I will confess that I haven't read the book by Phillippa Gregory, but from my perspective of the film, this is a beautifully made historical character study of some of the most famous historical figures in history. The film does look exquisite, with lavish costumes and splendid locations. The acting from Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johanssen are the redeeming merits of an above-average but rather unsubtle movie. These two actresses are brilliant at showing emotional depth. I also liked the actress of Catherine of Aragon, though I didn't expect Catherine to be conveyed in the way she was. However, I was not so impressed with Eric Bana as Henry. He fits the part physically, but emotionally he comes across to me as rather flat and lifeless. There are many historical inaccuracies, probably an attempt to be faithful to the source material, and because of this, sometimes the dialogue is very wordy and could have been simplified, and the rape scene seemed as though it came from another movie. I also thought the film rather overlong and a bit slow, and I will confess that I was out of my seat in the execution scenes with genuine fright inside of me, believe me a man screaming for mercy is one of the last things you want to see portrayed on film.(I really found that scene in particular very upsetting to watch)In conclusion, a beautifully made and in general well acted period drama, but suffers from uneven dialogue and pacing. 7/10 Bethany Cox.