Really a great acting work, away from each actor's respective usual characters

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2015)

As its story the movie points out a historic event that was the crucial stage for the Catholic Church in England. The movie nicely plays on the character relationship, building enough depth for each character, and nicely shifting the focus to and from Anne and Mary. What's makes it very interesting for me is the level of acting I find in this movie, which a great work in overall. The two main female roles played by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson were outside of their own usual characters. Natalie Portman is a frequent at the roles of the protagonist who often gets the sympathy of the audience. In this movie she really succeeded in shedding her usual image and transformed into the ruthless Anne Boleyn this movie envisioned. Scarlett Johansson on the other hand is used to the more challenging role, particularly action roles. But here she really grasped the emotions and mannerisms of a girl being tossed into the politics of the aristocrats. I also enjoy Eric Bana and Jim Sturgess' convincing performance, and was pleased to see the seeds of even greater actors in the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne.