Today's Top Picks
Click a day to view events
Search for things to do
- Events
- Movies
- Dining
- Venues
Movies
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Boleyn Girl’ naughty but shallow | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| By Craig Outhier, Get Out | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| February 28, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But they’re out of luck, right, because he’s married to this old Spanish chick with a big wart on her chin. So guess what he does? He totally gives the Pope the finger! Snap city! Ladies and gentlemen, an abridged history of Henry Tudor’s England brought to you by “The Other Boleyn Girl.” No, it’s not “Masterpiece Theater” — but when the majority of your target audience wouldn’t know a York from a Yorkshire, that’s not exactly a liability, is it? Director Justin Chadwick and screenwriter Peter Morgan — the pen behind “The Queen,” here adapting from Philippa Gregory’s best-selling novel — have packed in enough star-power, lurid sexual politics and simplified politics-politics to please any fan of “The O.C.” Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson play Ann and Mary Boleyn, respectively; worldly and wholesome, respectively; sisters and rivals for the affections of the legendarily libidinous King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). From the outset, Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance) — an unabashed striver and opportunist — views his daughters as little more than choice cuts of meat to wave under the collective nose of England’s 16th-century political elite. “Ann could do much better than a merchant’s son,” he speculates, to the mild disgust of his more idealistic wife (Kristin Scott Thomas). Imagine his delight when the King — embittered by the inability of Queen Katherine of Aragon (Ana Torrent) to conceive a male heir — schedules a weekend getaway at the Boleyn estate. Naturally, bold and beautiful Ann is the bait. “Are you up to the challenge?” her well-connected nobleman uncle (David Morrissey) asks the appalled teen. Well, since you put it THAT way. To the surprise of the family —– and the undisguised jealousy of her sister — shy, retiring Mary is the one to whom the King takes a shine. And you have to hand it to director Chadwick, it’s an intoxicatingly naughty display. The compromises. The privilege. The King’s perfectly sculpted abs. Alas, the movie stops being fun when it shrugs off the first-stage sisterly competition drama and dives into a hyper-text version of the history-shaping events that follow. Since the filmmakers feel obliged to inform us the little red-haired girl sired by Henry is the future Queen Elizabeth, I’ll just assume they know their audience better than me and spare you the intervening details. Trust me, it’s nothing to lose your head over. REVIEW ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’Cast: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana Behind the scenes: Directed by Justin Chadwick, from a script by Peter Morgan Rated: PG-13 (mature thematic elements, sexual content, violent images), 115 minutes — Grade: B- Contact Craig Outhier by email, or phone (480) 898-5683 |
Rate this article
© 2008 East Valley Tribune. All rights reserved.
Reader comments (0)
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Responsibility lies solely with the comment author.