Where Were My Heaving Bosoms?

Rating: 6/10 (7 August 2008)

I was expecting heaving bosoms and bodice rippings galore from this costume drama, but sadly, the filmmakers and actors decide to take this piece of "historical" fiction seriously, and so "The Other Boleyn Girl" is not nearly as fun as it could have been.
Either Natalie Portman, as Anne, or Scarlett Johansson, as Mary, is the "other" girl of the title, depending on your point of view. Both are paraded before King Henry VIII (Eric Bana -- yeah right!) in an attempt to make one or the other his mistress and so establish the Boleyn family firmly in the king's favor. It's a vaguely feminist story -- the girls' uncle and father pull the strings, while their mother (Kristen Scott Thomas, underused) stands in the background looking disapproving. But first and foremost, the film is a gussied up bit of Masterpiece Theatre starring beautiful Hollywood actors.
The film is entertaining, but never fully engaging. For me, this was largely due to the casting. Natalie Portman is directed to play Anne Boleyn like a scheming villainess one moment, and a nobly suffering wife the next. The performance is uneven and unconvincing, and I'm not sure if the fault lies with Portman as an actress, the way the part is written, or the way she's directed to play it. Eric Bana does not have the physical presence or spirit to play Henry VIII, though the ladies in the audience should be happy, because the only bosoms to be seen in the movie belong to him. Let's just say that if Henry VIII had looked like Eric Bana, history might have turned out differently.
The only actress who I felt truly did service to her role is Scarlett Johansson. Johansson gets a bad rap from people for some reason, but every time I see her in something, I'm impressed by how much I like her. I think she's a good actress who doesn't coast on her looks (like she certainly could), and I wonder how this film would have come across if she and Portman had switched roles.
Fans of elaborate costumes and production design should have fun with this movie.
Grade: B+