The Other Boleyn Girl Review
Thank you for checking out our review of The Other Boleyn Girl.
The General Idea
Plot synopsis from IMDB: A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family’s blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII.
The Good
Scarlett Johnansson and Natalie Portman were both delightful in this film and I enjoyed watching them squabble as sisters. The chemistry between the two was great and there back on forth dialog made for some of the film’s best moments. I will not lie, with all the sisterly hugging and kissing It took some effort not to let the mind wander to thoughts of strap-on usurping. Natalie Portman uses her eyes to great effect in the film and gives some powerful “come hither” looks that could make the thickest of pants turn to vapor.
I usually hate films like this, but my interest was kept the entire time. The dialog was snappy and I was interested in the unraveling rivalry between the very different Boleyn girls. I enjoyed the script very much and the story of Anne is a powerful one. Using her feminine wiles she became queen and set in motion the creation of the Anglican Church; forever separating England’s ties with the Vatican. This girl used her vagina as a weapon, and history is a testament to its power! (My crotch may be able to get me a meager sandwich on the best of days.)
The film also tickled my fancy with multiple beheadings; and they always makes for fantastic cinema. This would usually be considered a spoiler but because the events are based on history - you already knew the outcome. (If you skipped that class, everyone lives; I was just yanking your chain).
The Bad
As much as I enjoyed the story, for a period piece I never felt immersed into the film. I think this was largely do to the editing. They had a lot of ground to cover but often we skip too quickly from one shot to the next and the film seemed disjointed and hurried. This was a shame, because the location shots and costumes were very beautiful and the attention to detail was outstanding. If we were able to spend more time in each shot and get a feel for the place, the film would have been much more endearing and immersive.
Eric Bana as Henry the 8th gets to have some pretty outstanding relations in this movie. We have love scenes with both Scarlett and Natalie; and they are utter garbage. The love scenes are brushed over quickly as an afterthought, and we see more skin from soap commercials. This was an opportunity to have two of Hollywood’s hottest starlets compete for greatest on screen sex scene - and it was totally blown. I am aghast on many levels why this opportunity was not taken advantage of. It was appropriate to the story and if you are going to do a love scene anyway, I would think it wise to make it steamy, delicious, and memorable.
Overall
This was a surprisingly enjoyable film for me. An extra 20 minutes would have actually strengthened the feel of the story and made for a more atmospheric experience. I never think a film should go longer, but here - it may have been appropriate. Natalie and Scarlett did a great job working together and I hope we get to see them do so again. Out of 10, I would give this film a 6.
1. Orren Jensen replies at 1st March 2008, 2:29 am :
The Other Boleyn Girl look good and I will go watch it as soon as it goes off restriction. Let me explain, I work at a movie theater and as a employees we can watch free movies but there are some rules to watching free movies. One can’t watches movies that are on restriction. Restricted here doesn’t reference the “R–rate movies” but it is a movies that employees can’t watch for free. A restriction on a film maybe place there by a studio. In our case SONY movies are automatically restricted for the first three weeks it is out. Blockbuster like Harry Potter or others like it will be weekend restricted meaning employees can’t watch it until the Monday after it comes out. The Other Boleyn Girl is one of those film I not paying for I will wait for it to come off restriction. It looks good, and hopeful I can get to see it.
2. zoe replies at 1st March 2008, 8:58 am :
hm. I have been kind of on a fence about whether or not I want to see this movie. I like Natalie Portman a lot but I am not a big fan of Scarlett. If I can get my husband to come with, I might just give it a go.
http://www.discussionpub.com
3. Kristina replies at 1st March 2008, 6:20 pm :
Doug, if you liked this story, you might want to check out The Tudors, a show on Showtime that covers this same material, but with a ton of steamy sex scenes thrown in for good measure. I’m interested in seing this film simply to see how it compares to The Tudors, which I’m a fan of. I really don’t see Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, though. Her accent in the trailers sounded like rubbish, but if you say that she was good, I’ll give her a shot. The girl they have on The Tudors playing Anne Boleyn, whose name coincidentally is also Natalie, is a formidable Anne Boleyn.
4. doug nagy replies at 1st March 2008, 7:02 pm :
her accent was a was a weak point - I admit it
5. Kristina replies at 1st March 2008, 7:40 pm :
Yeah, her accent sounded off in V For Vendetta as well. All of the reviews I’ve been reading for this film say that it’s pretty mediocre, which is disappointing since I’ve been interested in seeing it. Doug, do you think the film would have been better if the roles were reversed and ScarJo was playing Anne? I see her as more of a temptress than Natalie Portman. Nat’s beautiful, but I get a librarian vibe from her.
6. Jano replies at 2nd March 2008, 2:22 pm :
Dear Mr. Nagy:
I am surprised you did not comment on or describe the dresses used by Portman/Johansson. Will that topic be extensively analyzed in a future post?
Best regards
7. Nancy Broertjes replies at 4th March 2008, 7:32 am :
I felt that the film was poorly done. It was frequently off in historical accuracy of events and costumes. The focus seemed to be on the prurient appeal of sex rather than Henry VIII’s obsessive need for an heir to prevent a repeat of the events of the War of the Roses over succession which was ended by his father, Henry VII marriage to Elizabeth of York. The belief that God was punishing him by preventing Katherine of Aragon from having a living son drove him to try to find ways to legally remarry. Henry VIII, being king, could find sex anywhere….much like a rock star finds groupies. The colors chosen for the costumes may have been beautiful but were unlikely to have been achieved on natural fabrics and synthetics had not yet been invented. The movie also failed to be faithful to the book by Phillipa Gregory, leaving out so much as to fail to make sense.
8. Nancy Broertjes replies at 4th March 2008, 7:34 am :
One other thing I noted was that the costumes seemed more Elizabethan than middle Tudor.
9. Brooke replies at 4th March 2008, 8:04 am :
I’m glad of your post, Nancy. I’d had the book sitting around for a long time and when I saw the trailer for this movie it acted as a catalist (as so often happens) to get me to finally read it. I really enjoyed the book, but the more I read, the more concerned I was that the movie would not do it justice, purely based on the time contraints inherent in the medium (it would have to be a 3 hour movie at least to fit it all in). The only saving grace I was hoping to find would be the set design and costumes, but it sounds like even that is dissapointing. I might just wait until it shows up on TBS (sorry, Peachtree TV, now!).