Dir. Justin Chadwick , UK/US, 2008, 115 mins
Cast: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana
Review by Carol Allen
For fans of costume drama the story may seem a bit familiar, in that Philippa Gregory's novel, which is also the source material for this film, was made into a television series in 2003 with Natascha McElhone as Mary and Jodhi May as Anne. It tells the story of the two Boleyn sisters, Mary (Johansson), who became Henry VIII's mistress before her more famous sister and who lost him to Anne, when he lost interest in her, while she was pregnant with his child. Rather than this being just a pretty costume drama, screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen) has given the story a feeling of contemporary relevance both in its feminist sympathies and his depiction of a society obsessed with gaining power and influence, which has certain analogies with our own.
It is primarily the story of the two sisters' relationship - their closeness and their rivalry over the king. Portman is particularly good as the headstrong and ruthless Anne, who learns the lesson of her cast aside sister and strings Henry along, refusing to give in to his advances, until he agrees to divorce his queen and marry her - a manipulation which ultimately backfires on her. The scene where Anne is tried and condemned by a panel of lords, which include her uncle and her former secret husband Henry Percy is very moving, as is her execution and that of her brother George, played by up and coming young actor Jim Sturgess. Johannsen has the more difficult task of making the "good" sister interesting and, while often touching, she does to some extent come over as a bit of a gentle Mary, meek and mild. David Morrissey as their uncle the Duke of Norfolk and Mark Rylance as their father are really chilling in the way they effectively pimp both young women for the king in an attempt to gain power and influence for their family. Morrissey in particular, despite a rather odd wig, gives a very effective portrait of a ruthless political sociopath, treating women as mere commodities to be bought and sold in the course of his lust for power. Norfolk, incidentally, pulled the same trick some years later, ordering another of his nieces, Catherine Howard, to seduce the king, thereby condemning her to the same fate as Anne. Kristen Scott Thomas as the Boleyn girls' mother effectively voices the view of the modern audience in her disapproval of the men's treatment of her daughters, while helpless to stop it, and there's an impressively dignified performance from Ana Torrent as Queen Catherine, rejected by Henry for her failure to bear him a son.
Bana as Henry, while very attractive and given plenty of opportunity to show off his toned and muscular body in the film's many sex scenes, leaves us with the impression that England at this time was ruled by an immature, spoiled brat, who saw the world and everyone in it as his personal property, subject to his every whim. He effectively contributes to the feeling of this being a very dangerous society, where anyone who crosses the king is literally in danger of losing their head.
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