Good but bad at the same time!

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2010)

Being a history fanatic focused on the Tudor dynasty I have read all of Phillippa Gregory's books based on this time period. The Other Boleyn Girl is my favorite of the series and I was ecstatic to find out that movie was going to be made! My father(who is also a history-buff) and I went and saw the movie soon after it came out. The movie is both and good and bad.
The good parts of this movie includes casting Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn. I have always thought her to be a wonderful actress and was excited to hear that she would be in it. The costumes are wonderful as well, enough to make me want to get one myself! The sets are also great and transport the viewer back in time. The movie is good, but it does have its problems.
The bad parts of this movie are mainly dealing with the facts. The only reference to the period of time passing is the birth of children. The Anne Boleyn Henry VIII affair lasted a total of 13 years, but a viewer would guess maybe a total of 5 years. The one scene that drove me crazy was the rape scene. In the theater I said aloud "What the Hell?" Anne was not raped by Henry for their first sexual encounter, and this did not result in Elizabeth's birth. Other screw-ups include the absence of Mary's daughter Catherine by Henry and the death of her first husband William Carey, Elizabeth being raised by her aunt, or the fact that Anne was sent to France as punishment. In reality Anne was sent to France at the age of 4 and grew up there. She was sent to Hever after the affair with Henry Percy.
All in all the movie is okay. My suggestion is that if you want to see this movie and enjoy it, see it before you read the book. The movie is good by itself, but when compared to the book it is a failure. I like the movie as a movie standing alone, but not as an adaptation of the Gregory novel.