Six wives and a mistress

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2008)

"The Other Boleyn Girl" (2008) was directed by Justin Chadwick. It stars Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, and Scarlett Johansson as her sister, Mary Boleyn. As everyone knows, Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic church in order to divorce his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and marry Anne Boleyn. We all know what happened to Anne when she failed to produce a son and heir. What many of us don't know--but is apparently true--is that Henry fathered a son by Anne's sister Mary. Because this child was born out of wedlock, and because Henry assumed he would have a legitimate male heir, he didn't acknowledge the child. The relationship between the king and the two sisters is at the center of the film.
The film doesn't adhere to a strict timeline. For example, Anne Boleyn spent most of her early life in the royal households of the Netherlands and France. In the film, she is sent to France as a punishment, and almost immediately recalled. However, the basic facts- - that Mary Boleyn was Henry's mistress and that Anne Boleyn refused to become his mistress, but became his wife--are correct. The acting is excellent, and the casting choices are outstanding. (Some people have written that the two sisters are cast against type, but I don't agree. Johansson, with her blonde hair and open expression, is perfect for Mary, who is portrayed as naive and trusting. Portman's exotic dark beauty is ideal for Anne, who is manipulative and ambitious.)
Eric Bana does well as Henry Tudor, but three of the supporting actors are truly excellent-- David Morrissey as the amoral Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, Kristin Scott Thomas as the girls' mother, Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, and Ana Torrent as Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife.
If you hate costume dramas, stay away from this film. If you enjoy movies with great castles, magnificent horses, gorgeous costumes, handsome men and beautiful women, "The Other Boleyn Girl" delivers all of these things.
We saw the movie on a large, flat-screen TV. It would work better in a theater, and would lose some of its grandeur with DVD on a standard television screen. Still, whatever the format, I think it's good enough to be worth finding and seeing.