Banal but for Bana.

Rating: 6/10 (29 March 2008)

Light on accuracy, light on characterisation and light on point  this film is essentially a vaguely pretty piece of flimsy material. Taking a famed piece of history and weaving some interesting supposition around it is a good start, casting some fine (and fine looking) actors is a great second step. Leaving them with nothing to work with and having the most interesting character (Henry) as little more than an extended cameo is disappointing and silly.
Johansson does her best with a tediously feeble Mary Boleyn, whose niceness quickly becomes insipid and annoying. Equally, Portman attempts to make Anne likable, when the script essentially has her as a spiteful bitch. Almost all the other characters are bland caricatures, with the exception of Bana's Henry, who would have been a great role if he'd had a few more scenes  powerful, conflicted and believable. Alas, this is a movie of poor decisions and the end product goes little better than Anne's marriage.