The Other Boleyn Girl
Cast: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, David Morrrissey, Jim Sturgess, Kristen Scott Thomas
Dir: Justin Chadwick
Rating: 2.5/5
Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory sisters Anne (Portman) and Mary Boleyn (Johansson) are driven by the ambitions of their father and their uncle to advance their family's power and status.
Leaving behind their country lives the girls are thrown into the dangerous world of court where a ruthless rivalry between Anne and Mary, for the affection of Henry VIII (Bana), develops.
It is Mary who wins Henry's favour becoming his mistress and giving birth to an illegitimate child - a son.
But Anne edges aside her sister and the Queen of England Katherine of Aragon in her relentless pursuit of the King and desire to be queen.
As the Boleyn girls battle for the love of the King, one driven by ambition the other by real affection, England is torn apart.
The Other Boleyn Girl is a mix of melodrama, sex and politics set in a time when women were bought and sold to the highest bidder in order to further the careers of men.
Justin Chadwick, who is best know for his television work Bleak House, hasn't recreated the standard that we saw in the BBC adaptation with this rather dull account of history that isn't at all original.
The story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn has been told on the big and small screen so many times that there's no longer anything in the way of a surprise for the character of Anne, like Titanic the ship was always going to sink, she is going to meet her demise.
However the introduction of Mary, the Boleyn sister we know little about, is an interesting twist that has been added and Chadwick had the opportunity to portray a fascinating depiction of a very troubled relationship between the two sisters.
However he failed to produce anything more than a sisterly cat fight that wouldn't look out of place in Eastenders.
While the film looks good, lavish costumes, shot on location around the UK, the high production values and big names cannot hide that fact that there is little drama in this 114 minute movie that begins to drag from about half way.
While Bana, Portman and Johansson do well there is little character development, for Bana in particular who remains a man who sees women as meaningless pursuits and conquests throughout the whole of the picture.
The character of Mary was always going to be tricky given the fact that very little is known about her but Johansson doesn't convince, I have never really understood the hype about her anyway.
In all The Boleyn Girl is a disappointment a very good cast goes to waste, in particular Kristen Scott Thomas.
And the love triangle at the height of Henry's power that caused him to split from the catholic church, causing decades of religious unrest, has been degraded to a soap opera.
The Other Boleyn Girl is released 7th March
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Read our The Other Boleyn Girl interview.
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