The Other Boleyn Girl | Natalie Portman

The Other Boleyn Girl | Natalie Portman | A passionate and complex film.

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The Other Boleyn Girl

	The Other Boleyn Girl Natalie Portman Sony Pictures, 2008 average customer review:based on 178 reviews view larger image
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The Other Boleyn Girl

This was a wonderful film. Very true, historically. Well acted. Authentic costumes. Good character development. Well done!

A passionate and complex film.

This is a beautifully acted, scripted, and directed period film.

I know there are a number of inaccuracies regarding the historical elements in this film, but that's to be expected from Hollywood. I found the story riveting, the performances strong and convincing, and the plot, whether inaccurate or not, very believable and rather very likely.

It is something of a revisionist's version of what had happened in King Henry VIII's reign in that Anne Boleyn was one of the most hated women in British history and often considered/described as the stereotypical gold digger, but I have always felt there was much more to the story than the tidbits of the bias history presented about her. This tale presents a very different view of Anne Boleyn, brilliantly portrayed by Natalie Portman of Star Wars Prequel Trilogy fame, who seems more a victim of her family's quest for power and influence which, quite frankly, would be a far more likely scenario than the concept of the independent, crafty gold digger that history seems to constantly portray her as. Sometimes a revisionist notion of history can seriously provide a more likely reality and I think this version does that. It was not unheard of for men in power to pimp their daughters out to their own advantage.

Eric Bana makes a very convincing King Henry VIII and is perhaps one of the few who make him out to be something considerably more than the monster history seems to make him out to be. It is still an unflinching, negative, self-serving, egotistical King Henry we all have come to know from history books, but Bana creates a more complex, tormented Henry that makes him more round and believable.

History seems to have him very much in love with his first wife Catherine, but hurt and disgusted that she could not produce a male heir for him. When charmed by Anne either through her own covert actions or by her family's considerable influence, or some combination of both, Henry pretty much goes nuts in an effort to gain Anne and a male heir to his throne. Men have gone nuts over women over far less, so what makes this scenario so hard to believe? I, for one, think it is very likely that this is exactly what led up to his "divorce" of Catherine and war with the Catholic Church.

Sadly, this put Anne at a disadvantage from the start and was a source of trouble between her and Henry right from the get go. Some argue that Anne and Henry's relationship declined slowly over time, but I attest that their marriage was contentious from the start due to the fact Henry ripped apart a nation over Anne, who was soundly rejected by the people, couldn't produce a male heir after numerous attempts, and was executed by Henry after just barely three years as his wife on what was most likely trumped up charges. Heck, they didn't call her "Anne of a thousand days" for nothing.

The "other" Boleyn girl is played with great subtly and inner strength by Scarlett Johansson who completely disappears into this role. I simply found it hard to recognize her from some of her other films like The Island and Match Point. It wasn't the make up or British accent so much as to the fact she was a completely different person in this film. She is terrifically understated here.

All other cast members are excellent as is the script, cinematography, set designs, music, and direction. This is a solidly made film, but it isn't perfect and it won't please everyone, as some will be offended by the historical "guesses" that take place. Well, regardless of the accuracies or inaccuracies of this historical period and these pivotal players in it, this film is extremely entertaining.

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Nice movie, not historically accurate

I was so happy when this came out on film because I loved the book. The book this movie is based on is historical fiction so I knew it was not going to be historically accurate but this movie does take some facts and stretch them pretty far. So if your looking to learn something about Anne Boleyn don't go to this movie. But this movie is very entertaining and the costumes are perfect. You did get a sense of what it was like during that time period and what the two girls went through. There are some nice special features as well. Yes, this movie is historically inaccurate, but all movies are unless they are a documentary. So if you keep in mind this is a movie to ENTERTAIN you, then you will enjoy it. Natalie Portman does a great job as Anne Boleyn.

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Ambitiojs epic--not quite there

Not an art movie--not quite an epic--but a regular costumer, in what has become a culture with Focus Films: Make as many movies about Elizabeth I, or her relatives and historical milieu. This time it is about her mother, Ann Boleyn, but the story--slow moving at first--let's us know about her younger sister, Mary, and her manipulative uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, who sees it is an opportunity to further his family's interests by promoting her as the prospective mistress of his king, who else, the infamous Henry the VIII. She is married already, and that makes it easier, for the king need not bother with her virginhood. Mary has a child with Henry and then is abandoned; his interest now turns to her sister, Ann, who had been in France a while, "educating" herself in court manners. Now she is a daring woman who has the temerity to exchange witticism with the mighty king. She defies him to marry her, something that will cost England a rift with the Pope. All this is well known stuff of history, and the movie does not bother with much detail. But when Ann seems to go too far, fails to produce a male heir, and thence is beheaded; that simple. The details of two beheadings, for she has to be found guilty of something--incest with her brother--are gruesome, and both she and her brother undergo the usual decapitation process, he with an ax, his head on a block, she by a horizontal hit with a blade that cuts off her head while she knees, and her head and neck are in vertical position.

Eric Bana, who plays Henry, makes an effort to make this male monster's tale sympathetic--after all he has to have a son!--but, in this one of his weakest performances, only succeeds in giving the viewer a bag of inconsistencies, for Henry seems beyond redemption--whatever his reasons. Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johanssen give creditable performances, and the rest of the cast is on the excellent side, in this tale which nothing but a repetition of royal sins and monstrous inhumanities.

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