The Other Boleyn Girl - Review

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Rated: PG-13

Distributor: Sony Pictures

Release Date: 2008-02-29

Starring: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rue McClanahan

Directed by Justin Chadwick

Produced by Alison Owen, Scott Rudin

Written by Peter Morgan

Visit the movie's Official Site!

Reviewed by Josh Tyler : 2008-02-26 16:50:07

Corset dramas are usually the stuff of gooey, doe-eyed romances against the odds or in the midst of war. The Other Boleyn Girl tries something a little different with the pretty dresses genre and gives us a costumed political procedural in which a women are traded like baby-birthing poker chips and a king is only as good as his libido.

It’s the story of the women in the court of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana), notorious wife exchanger and all around alpha male. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson play sisters, thrust into a game of palace intrigue when their father decides to dangle their pretty breasts in front of the king in an attempt to lure him away from his battle axe first wife and thus gain favor and prestige for his family, the Boleyns, at court. The problem for the king is that the queen has failed to give him a male heir. He takes this somewhat personally and so their relationship has deteriorated, leaving an opening for some other woman to worm her way into Henry VIII’s bed.

First it’s the youngest Boleyn daughter Mary who scores with the king. Her recent marriage to someone else proves no problem, the king gets what the king wants. What doe-eyed, somewhat dim Mary wants though, is a quiet home in the country. Meanwhile, her sister Anne is every bit as ambitious as Mary is unwilling, and she resents Mary’s unintentional success at banging the King, since she had her eye on his palatial power first. It’s Anne that really ends up being the center of the story, and the script cast her as something of an unsympathetic villain. Of the two sisters she has all the brains and fire, but none of the compassion or plain old common sense. Natalie’s solid as Anne, though the movie doesn’t give her a lot to work with. She’s almost terminally unlikable, a real bitch in a movie full of assholes.

It’s hard to find anyone to root for or care about here. Mary’s the only character who isn’t a complete slime, but Scarlett Johansson’s blank, dead-eyed performance just doesn’t cut it in the middle of all this political and marital backstabbing. Her character’s a dull, dead end and she’s not worth investing in. Eric Bana’s performance is mildly interesting. He manages to be uber-manly even in the fuzzy hats and ridiculously feminine outfits of the era. But other than growling his way through the movie like a bull mastiff, there’s not much to recommend Henry. Like everyone else, he’s just another palace scum. Maybe he’s the top scumbag, but he’s defined by his overreaching, out of control sex drive and little else.

Ultimately it’s a clumsy film with performances ranging all over the place and a story that while well constructed, just isn’t that compelling. It’s a blithely mediocre. The dresses are pretty and colorful, the palace intrigue is well constructed, and it’s nice to see one of these corset dramas try something besides unrequited love as a topic. If that’s enough for you, then maybe you’ll enjoy The Other Boleyn Girl, but with this cast I expected better and the movie should have been able to deliver something more epic. It’s trapped between being a tense political procedural and a sensual sex drama and in the end it doesn’t have the guts to be either.

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Amanda Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 23:13
Judging from this review I think The Other Boleyn Girl seems rather fun, and I will definitely go see Eric Bana as..what was it... an "ubermanly bull mastiff" - such a rare breed these days lol lol
I have seriously suspected that very few guys would like this film - but I don´t quite understand why it obviously makes them outright angry lol lol

Ash Says:
February 27th, 2008 at 18:03
"costumed political procedural in which a women are traded like baby-birthing poker chips and a king is only as good as his libido"

-- Well in history Henry VIII DID have a LOT of wives and Mary was one of his mistresses... Even from this cynical review, it seems like a good movie to watch.

And Anne Boleyn probably *IS* a villain. Afterall, she did get beheaded.

jen Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 14:48
Although the new story is entertaining, Anne Boleyn was relatively well-liked and probably nothing like the movie portrays her to be. She was beheaded under extremely sketchy charges, given a mockery of a trial, and in general is known to be someone who lost her life because the king was desperate to successfully produce an heir (which is interesting given what we know now about father's role in determining gender).

Christa Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 17:50
Anyone who thinks Anne Boleyn was "relatively well-liked" hasn't done much research about her. By the time she attained the throne she was hated by the English people, who still loved Katherine. She didn't dare venture out on the streets for fear of having rotten tomatoes thrown at her. Not to say that she didn't earn it.

Reviews or not, I can't wait to see the movie just because everything about Tudor england is fascinating, juicy stuff--better than any fiction anyone could come up with!

Allie Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 19:18
Oh, by the way, I am getting tired of the way Henry VIII is being portrayed on television and screen these days. I'm seeing him as a dark-haired, David Beckham-like modern euro-stud. Even in his younger and skinnier days, Henry VIII was a fiery man who was much larger than life and hit his court (and everyone else he knew outside of it) with the power of a human tidal wave. Show me an actor who can portray that kind of Henry, and I am there.

Allie Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 19:18
"And Anne Boleyn probably *IS* a villain. Afterall, she did get beheaded."

Anne Boleyn was beheaded because Henry VIII was unhappy with her. It was a repeat of the Katherine of Aragon affair, and no doubt Henry did not wait to face the same hoopla a second time. He wanted a son, and he wanted one ASAP. Anne was very ambitious as stated and probably very cruel as well (read up on some of what she did to Mary Tudor and Catherine...), but she could also be very generous. From the Tudor biographies I have read, I have formed my own opinion that Anne probably was innocent of all charges brought against her. She had her faults but she probably didn't deserve to be executed.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" is soap opera fluff, like most historical fictions.

Che Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 16:37
I did see it, against my better judgement, and I am in complete agreement with the reviewer. In fact, I think it's probably a worse movie than he allows... and in answer to a comment above, it's not just men that hate this movie. In fact, I've found some male reviewers that (incomprehensibly) seemed to like it. People who go into this movie expecting dimensioned acting, a reasonable script, and accomplished cinematography are the ones who hate it, and they have every reason to do so.

Sherrie Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 09:09
My judgement of the film is that it was good I like historical films.

I really hated Anne and felt pity with here at the end... altought after everything I read about here in real life I think some of the thinks could be true about her poisoning people I truly think she had that type of character..

But okay I have to say Nathalie played the role of Anne very well ;)

But Mary, Scarlett character was the one that really appealed to me and I think she played the role ofvery well and make you feel pity with here without thinking she is over reacting..

And Henry... Henry was just stupid.. and I don't think Eric Bana played him good he just walked around like a bodybuilder or something through the whole film. and he's way to young if you think about the age differents between the real Henry and the Boleyn girls....

Zulekha Says:
March 19th, 2008 at 14:28
Anne Boleyn may have been hated by the people but she was not a bad person, her only crime was being an intelligent and opinionated woman, unlike the stupid king who squandered the fortune his father had worked so hard to achieve. She was beheaded because henry wanted a son and suddenly liked Jane Seymour and thought it fair to make up charges that Anne was innocent of and execute her on those grounds. The real villain was henry VIII!! only ignorant Tudor famous for his 6 wives and ruining the Tudor dynasty. Then his poor children all 3, had to build up the broken dynasty and did a better job (Edward and Mary) in their short reign, than he ever did! And so was Elizabeth of course a great monarch like her grandfather (ooh and coincidence, Anne Boleyn's daughter!!). So at the end of the day the movie will portray somewhat of a soap opera, no fault of their own because that period in Tudor history was just frivolous gossip!! even the creation of protestantism although important was done based on his libido, not because he felt strongly about it!! He died a catholic! the hypocrite!

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