Historical drama that was a bit shocking

Rating: 9/10 (21 June 2009)

I am having difficulties rating a movie of this genre. The acting was very good, the story complex (even if inspired from history), the portrayal of the time's way of things was both well rendered and disgusting. The subject was not so interesting to me, so I am trying to ignore my slight boredom to try to maintain some sort of objectivity.
About the movie, imagine women (and young men) planned, traded, manipulated and used as a mere commodity, nothing more than cattle, for the reasons of gaining favor upon their families. Marriages were ignored or broken at the whim of kings or higher noblemen, daughters were forced to accept whoredom and everybody had a plan.
In the middle of things, the Boleyn sisters, played by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Handled between their greedy family and a petulant and immature king, they become part of history without, I would wager, having much to do with any of the things that happened to them. People have deplored the lack of historical accuracy of the script, but I wouldn't know about that. In the film Anne is shown as manipulating the king by refusing to bed him and the king, maddened with passion, does everything she asks. I wonder if that could ever have been possible.
Bottom line: if you are a history buff, you should watch it. Women might also get a kick out of marriages and babies and miscarriages and drama. It is a well done movie and, subject aside, a very decent film.