Powered by the strongest, most seductive performance of Natalie Portman’s career but undone by a lackluster, rushed ending, The Other Boleyn Girl is a story of greed, sex, betrayal, faked affection, and above all else, power.
Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory, the story begins with two characters familiar to us through history and the movies, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Henry (Eric Bana) is portrayed not as a corpulent slob, which is how we most often see him, but as a virile ruler who beds women as much out of his sexual appeal as his standing as the King of England. When his Queen cannot bear him a male heir, a scheme is hatched within his inner circle to have Henry take young Anne Boleyn (Portman) as his mistress to provide that heir for him.
Somewhere during that courtship, Henry fell for Anne’s younger, less worldly, plainer sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson), and it is Mary who carries the King’s child when Henry develops the Anglican Church, which allows him to divorce his wife and marry – you guessed it – Anne Boleyn, conniving older sister of the woman who gives birth to a bastard son of a king.
If The Other Boleyn Girl sounds a bit like a soap opera, allow me to introduce you to the alarmingly screwed up personal lives of England’s ruling Tudor family. There are centuries full of bizarre courtships and double dealings, although this one is famous for a number of reasons.
What is less known, though, is the story of Mary Boleyn. You could call her the other Boleyn girl, except for a time, Anne is the other Boleyn girl. Johansson is less glamorous than Portman in the film, which is by design, and there are times when she feels adrift. Eric Bana is more in each moment, but they are both overshadowed by Portman, who has always displayed many great qualities as an actress, but authority over a room has never really been one of them.
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Article comments
1 - Angie
I haven’t seen the movie as of yet. I plan to see it this weekend, and I hope that it is a bit better and more accurate than that of the series Tudors on Show TV. The Tudors has nothing much to do with real history. A real bummer!
2 - Liz
WONDERFUL MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3 - Christy
I loved this movie! I wonder how many people descend down today from the kings kid that he had with Mary Boleyn? Looks me like the royal family of England needs to lend us all a helping hand and extract some DNA from some old bones.
4 - bliffle
I enjoyed the movie greatly. Unusual, these days.
5 - TheAnneBoleynFiles
I loved Philippa Gregory's novel, but felt that the film failed on two counts - 1) As you say, it was rather rushed and it missed far too much out. 2) It focused on the wrong Boleyn girl! The book's focus is on Mary Boleyn, the "other Boleyn girl", yet the film seemed to focus on Anne.
Still, despite its mistakes, if the film is making people interested in the wonderful Tudor period (particularly Anne Boleyn), then I applaud it.