The Other Boleyn Girl (film)

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The Other Boleyn Girl

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Justin Chadwick
Produced by Scott Rudin
Alison Owen
Written by Philippa Gregory (novel)
Peter Morgan
Starring Natalie Portman
Scarlett Johansson
Eric Bana
Jim Sturgess
Mark Rylance
Kristin Scott Thomas
Ana Torrent
Music by Ed Shearmur
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Focus Features (overseas)
Release date(s) February 29, 2008

June 10, 2008
Running time 114 min.
Country UK
Language English
Budget $35 million[1]
Gross revenue $61,688,220 (worldwide)[2]
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Other Boleyn Girl is the 2008 film adaptation of the novel of the same title by British author Philippa Gregory and a remake of a BBC television film of the same name also based on Philippa Gregory's novel. Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johanssen and Eric Bana, it is a romanticized account of the life of the 16th-century aristocrat, Mary Boleyn, who was the sister of Anne Boleyn and one-time mistress of King Henry VIII of England. The film was directed by Justin Chadwick from a script by Peter Morgan (who also wrote a two-part television drama on Henry VIII in 2003). The film was produced and distributed in the United States by Columbia Pictures, and distributed overseas by Focus Features.

The world premiere was on 15 February 2008 at the Berlin International Film Festival.[3]

Contents

[edit] Plot

The movie is about the sisters, Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson), who are both fighting for the affection of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Although initially reluctant to become Henry's mistress, Mary comes to fall for the King, while Anne is only interested in securing her own status. Their father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, and uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, engineer the sisters' coming to Henry's attention in the first place, capitalizing on his dissatisfaction with his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who has failed to bear him a living son. The ambitious men seek their own gain in having a female relative as the King's mistress. First they select Anne, who is older, more ambitious and unmarried, and arrange for her to catch Henry's eye, but when Henry is injured in a hunting accident, indirectly caused by Anne, they have Mary nurse him.

Rebellious Anne then marries nobleman Henry Percy secretly and confides in her brother George (Jim Sturgess). George then tells Mary, but is confused as she is not happy about the marriage. Worried that Anne will ruin her reputation in marrying a nobleman without the King's consent, she tells her father and uncle. They tell Anne that the marriage has to remain secret as Henry Percy is set to marry another woman. The marriage of a nobleman is decided by the state. Anne argues that what is done before God cannot be undone, and that the marriage had been consummated. This angers Anne's father and uncle and she is sent away in exile to France.

While Anne is sent to France in disgrace, Mary becomes the King's lover; the Boleyns' fortunes seem secure when she becomes pregnant. But when Mary nearly miscarries and is confined to bed rest to protect the baby, Norfolk recalls Anne from France to keep the King's attention from wandering to another rival (such as Jane Seymour). Anne embarks on a successful campaign to attract Henry, showing herself to be more sophisticated and accomplished than she seemed before. By withholding her sexual favors, she ensures Henry's continued interest, finally making him promise never to bed his wife or speak to her sister in exchange for her giving him hope of eventually possessing her. Anne exacts this promise just after Mary gives birth to the much-anticipated son, making Mary's triumph hollow.

The ambitious Anne continues to refuse Henry's advances, until at last he obtains an unpopular divorce from Catherine and promises to marry Anne instead. The scandal of her brief, secret marriage to the young nobleman Henry Percy threatens the alliance, but Mary, out of loyalty to her family, returns to court and vouches for Anne. Despite the removal of this final obstacle, Anne's manipulations have pushed Henry to his breaking point. He blames Anne for England's schism with the Roman Catholic Church and rapes her. Confused and hurt by the attack, a now-pregnant Anne still goes through with her marriage to Henry and becomes Queen of England. The sisters reach a reconciliation and Mary stays by Anne's side at court. Despite the birth of a healthy daughter, Elizabeth, the royal marriage is unhappy. After Anne miscarries her second child, she becomes desperate and asks her brother, George, to try to impregnate her. Disgusted and horrified by Anne's request, Mary again leaves behind the intrigues of court. Anne and George are unable to go through with incest. Nonetheless, George's neglected wife, Jane, sees enough of their encounter to make her suspicious. Her testimony sets off the arrest, trial and, eventually, the execution of both George and Anne. Mary returns to court to plead for her sister's life, and although Henry seems to soften, he permits Anne's beheading to go on. He even warns Mary never to come to court again, because her family's disgrace could result in danger to her as well. Mary fulfills her last promise to Anne and takes care of her infant daughter.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

The film was made in late 2006 [4] and was released in February 2008 in the US and March 2008 in the UK [5].

The costumes were designed by Academy Award-winner Sandy Powell, whose credits include Shakespeare in Love, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Mrs Henderson Presents, and The Departed.

Filming locations included Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire; Penshurst Place, Knole Park, and Dover Castle in Kent; the City of Bath; and Bude in Cornwall.

The music used in the film's television spots is Nara by E.S. Posthumus, which is also the theme from the television drama series Cold Case.

[edit] Home Video Release

The Film will be released on BluRay and DVD formats on June 10, 2008.

[edit] Critical reception

The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. As of February 29, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 40% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 90 reviews — with the consensus being that the film was "more like a soap opera than a historical drama."[6] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[7] It received mixed to decidedly negative press reviews in the United States, with the New York Times calling it "more slog than romp"[8], and the British press (though noting good performances from Morrissey and other British actors, along with the British director Chadwick and writer Morgan) generally concurred, calling it "ridiculous, but imagined with humour and gusto"[9] and "for the most part ... history as soap opera, middle-brow Carry On Henry".[10]

In addition to the criticism the novel received for its presentation of Anne Boleyn, there was further criticism from some sections of the British press for the decision to cast an American (Johansson), an Israeli (Portman) and an Australian (Bana) in the main roles, all historical British figures. Critics included veteran academic and broadcaster David Starkey, author of several best-selling factual accounts of the Tudor royals. Johansson dismissed these criticisms,[11] stating her only reservations about the filming were about its melodramatic storyline.

Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl, was employed as a historical consultant for the movie. She was especially impressed by Johansson's commitment to the historical accuracy of her role. "When I got on set it was like a reading group. The whole cast and set were reading not just The Other Boleyn Girl but the rest of my Tudor novels, too. Scarlett's copy of the book is broken-backed and it's marked on every page. She's continually going to the writer and director and saying, 'Let's look at this, let's do it this way.'" [12]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ Filmdatenblatt (German). Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  4. ^ Scarlett Johansson Set As 'The Other Boleyn Girl'
  5. ^ The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) - Release dates
  6. ^ The Other Boleyn Girl - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  7. ^ Other Boleyn Girl, The (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  8. ^ "The Other Boleyn Girl", The New York Times, February 29, 2008. 
  9. ^ Bradshaw, Peter. "The Other Boleyn Girl", The Guardian, 7 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-20. 
  10. ^ Sandhu, Sukhdev. "The Other Boleyn Girl", The Telegraph, 29 March 2008. 
  11. ^ Bamigboye, Baz. "Scarlett's Royal scandal", Daily Mail, 1 September 2006. Retrieved on 2008-02-19. 
  12. ^ "Scarlett Johansson committed to accuracy on The Other Boleyn Girl set", Thaindian News, 2008-01-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-17. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Works of Peter Morgan
Television
The Jury (2002) · The Deal (2003) · Henry VIII (2003) · Colditz (2005) · Longford (2006)
Film
The Last King of Scotland (2006) · The Queen (2006) · The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) · Frost/Nixon (2008) · The Damned United (2009) · The Special Relationship (announced) · Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (announced)
Theatre