A stylish, intriguing and massively entertaining film. This film is not for those who are picky about historical accuracy, but for a romantic costume drama this succeeds on all counts. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the dialogue is equally snappy and effective. Despite the setting, this feels incredibly modern - which is part of the reason it works so well and doesn't get lost in the shuffle with other projects of this type. The production design is wonderful, the costumes memorable and the cinematography gorgeous. But the most enjoyable aspect of this film is easily watching the talented ensemble do what they do best. Scarlett Johansson delivers another strong performance. She makes her character both accessible and sympathetic. Eric Bana does a good job as well, giving his character a bit of depth when it could have easily been a one-dimensional role. Supporting turns by Kristin Scott Thomas and Jim Sturgess are also worth mentioning. The best performance in the cast, however, comes from Natalie Portman as the doomed Anne Boleyn. She delivers a fiery, scene-stealing performance that proves once again that she is one of the most talented young actresses working today. Despite the despicable things her character does throughout the course of the film, Portman makes her feel realistic and allows the audience to understand the motivation behind her actions as well. Her chemistry with Johansson is great as well, and the two make for a great onscreen pairing. The only problem I had with this film was the pacing. Everything felt pretty rushed, especially near the end - and five minutes of film would often represent months or years in the lives of these characters. I also felt that certain plot points could have been fleshed out a bit more, such as the relationship between Mary and her husband. Otherwise, this is a sudsy delight - an incredibly enjoyable project that should definitely not be missed. A-/B+

Agree with the above and I was pleasantly surprised with this movie overall.

Also, Natalie Portman gets it from pretty rough from both ends in the movie, deservingly so. But that is what happens when you play it tough as nails and you lose.

Gulli, you perv.

Glad you two enjoyed the flick, because I hated almost every minute of it. I was willing to forgo the films historical inaccuracies, and hoped for an entertaining psuedo-period piece. Instead I was treated to a slow, plodding, poorly written, poorly directed, and poorly acted, terribly miscast piece of garbage. How Eric Bana made it past the first round of casting I'll never know, he was so out of place. They could've put a piece of wood in his place and got more dramatic range and believability out it. I was really hoping that Scarlett Johansson would get better as an actress as she progressed through her career, but she's turning out to be another in a long line of incredibly hot yet talentless actresses. As far as Natalie Portman go's she's better than this tripe. Of course I should've known this was going to suck because it stars David Morrissey, and everyting he touches turns to shit.

Grade D

Yeah, it's pretty bad. If they had gone all out with the lurid soap opera that shows its face at times, it could have been a melodramatic masterwork, but instead it's bogged down by some deadly seriousness and mostly bland and downright boring performances. Only Natalie Portman seems to get it, as her Anne is full of sex and vigour and life, but everybody else in the cast seems to have wanted to make this film as dull and lifeless as it can get. As such, instead of a lively sex drama we're left with a stale costume drama, one that turns supremely awkward by the third act by slavishly sticking to history. And it's also unskillfully directed, full of nonsensical camera placements and disorienting editing. Stick to The Tudors.

What trixster said.

:o

I loved this movie. It's as epic as it is sensual; its contrivances almost Shakespearean in nature. Every time I thought it had reached an obvious climax, another chink was thrown at me. At every turn I could see the lust on Anne's lips and the fear in Mary's eyes. The king, for god's sake, wrings his palms on more than one occasion! When the queen tells Anne how to behave in France (something about getting what she wants by letting the men think they're in charge), the old lady couple in front of me said "Some things never change" and I felt a wonderful sense of history...this old couple, watching and relating to something that had happened hundreds of years earlier? That's something else.
I loved the first consummation of Anne's second marriage...the pain and sadness at that point is almost too much. And then, she makes that decision regarding her brother...Scarlett's face right there makes the film worth watching. The ending is beautiful. Best use of freeze frame since like, The 400 Blows? It's just all so intricate and extreme, so unexpectedly poetic. The girl from Atonement is also pretty perfect.

And I want to be a king...the outfits in this film are out of this world. His shoulders looked 8 feet wide. :o I would wear that.

No, kypade, no!

Don't go all Bradford on me!

Faced with such review schizophrenia...I must see this!

Sorry Trux. Don't worry though... makeshift and yoshue will never agree with me. :o

I hope someone else sees and loves this film soon cuz I'm bored.

Why don't you discuss it with thompsoncory?

Oooh, burn!

I said notihng about discussion...I just want someone to sing my praises.

The single most bothersome aspect of the film was def. the stomping Man - always brooding and parading around as that silly Boleyn girl ruined "the plans."

Why do you make me want to see this terrible looking movie kypade?

Had time to kill and a free movie ticket this afternoon, so I went.

I actually liked it quite a bit. Tawdry and trashy entertainment, which was pretty much the exact opposite of what I was expecting. It's no masterpiece by any means (way, way too many cuts, the camera placement is often nonsensical and disorienting, and the final 30 seconds or so misses its mark wildly), but you could do a lot worse if you're looking for some costumed period-drama pulp. It moves at a great clip, and the plot contrivances get more and more exciting and unpredictable as they pile on top of each other.

In the hands of a filmmaker that shoots from the cock, it could have been monumental. As is, it's kinky (albeit muted) fun.

Why must you do this to me, makeshift?

Next yoshue will come in and proclaim Justin Chadwick is the next Woody Allen.

I have the nagging suspicion that Mr. Chadwick is a bit of a hack.

I think this movie is successful more because of the source material and the screenplay rather than any vision from the director.

I hate what I just said.

Yeah.... doesn't that fly in the face of everything you've ever said about cinema?

Sort of.

Auteur theory is factual, and it can be applied to most movies. But you have to call a spade a spade.

Besides, the auteur of a film doesn't necessarily have to be the director. It just usually is. Example; Diablo Cody is the auteur of Juno.

The Paddy Chayefsky/David O. Selznick rule.

This thread kinda blew up in Trixster's face.

He took a really strong position on this thing, only to have all the other aesthetes come in and disagree.



Good times.

Wev. I know I'm right.