The Other Boleyn Movie

Where do I begin? Seeing “The Other Boleyn Girl” today was quite an experience indeed. I have always been fascinated with the era of King Henry VIII’s reign, and the life of Queen Elizabeth I. I’ve read several novels about their lives but also studied their true histories. A few years ago my grandmother gave me Philippa Gregory’s novel The Other Boleyn Girl and I was immediately swept away by the untold story of Mary Boleyn, the eldest daughter of the doomed Boleyn family. Anne’s story had been told so many times, seeing as she was the mother of one of the most famous women in history. It was a unique, albeit fictionalized account of the “other” sister.
As I loved the novel, I expected to adore the film. I am especially intrigued by historical costume and was not disappointed. The gowns and elaborate hairstyles and headdresses portrayed in the film, not to mention the lush English landscape and architecture, were exquisite. Unfortunately, that’s about all that I liked about the film.
When it came to the acting, Eric Bana was a disaster. His portrayal of Henry VIII was childish, whiny, spoiled, and ruled by nothing but his Johnson. I know for a fact that during these times the influence of others was pressed upon him constantly but I also know that Henry seldom did what he was told, and was not controlled like a puppet on a string as Bana displayed, but rather was the puppet master to others.
Scarlett Johansson did not disappoint, showing a true shyness, self-doubt, and simple beauty of an uncomplicated woman under very complicated circumstances. Kristen Scott Thomas stone brightly, understated as she was, her role and several of her lines were poignant and haunting. Natalie Portman did her very best to make me hate Anne Boleyn. However, Anne is such an intriguing figure that I truly adore her and despise Portman’s snobbish, backstabbing, wily version. In all accounts, Anne Boleyn did what she could under the strain of her family. Her choices were to be passed aside or try for more. Who in their right mind would not try to succeed in the face of certain disaster? Portman made Anne manipulative and spiteful when I have always seen Anne as brave, strong, and ambitious.
Her acting, however, is trumped by one plain fact: this movie hasn’t gotten any of the facts straight. Number one: Anne Boleyn had six fingers on her left hand. This was part of the reason many people accused her of being a witch. In the film, Portman’s hands are 5 fingers each. Number two: King Henry never fell off a horse chasing Anne into a ravine. That is utter rubbish. He was a fantastic athlete, for one, and for another, he hadn’t even met Anne yet. Henry met Mary Boleyn first, and their affair did begin despite Mary’s marriage to William Carey. At this time, Anne was in France at court being courted by Henry Percy. When Anne was summoned back to England, she and Percy became betrothed but their engagement was broken when Henry VIII saw her and refused, as king, to allow them to marry. Number three: Anne did not sleep with Henry VIII until after they were married. He never raped her, either. In the film, she is depicted on her wedding day as pregnant, after Henry rapes her in a fit of frustrated anger. Anne, historically, was insistent that they not sleep together until they were married as, if she were to become pregnant, the child would not be a legitimate heir. She promised him a son, one that his current queen could not provide. Number four: OMG this one really made me mad: Anne never even THOUGHT about sleeping with her own brother. In the movie today, I (and all the girls I went to the movies with) almost puked at the scene where Anne attempts to seduce her younger brother. NEVER HAPPENED. When Anne couldn’t have a living son, Henry and his advisers fabricated a great lie about Anne, saying she was unfaithful to the King.
Number five: Anne had at the very least 3 miscarriages, along with the live child Elizabeth. The film shows only one miscarriage. Number six: A missing character from the film was Cardinal Wolsey. He was a huge factor in Henry’s decision to part from the Catholic Church and create a new religion for England. He never appears, and it is told in the film that Anne alone convinces Henry VIII to make this change. His decision was much more intelligent and complicated than that. Number seven: Anne’s brother George was only one of five men accused of having affairs with the Queen. The film makes it look as though George almost slept with her, was caught, and charged to save Anne, who was trying to hide her miscarriage. All Anne’s pregnancies were well documented, and George and Anne did not try to conceal her loss, ever. Number eight: I know this is nit picking, but Anne’s execution is extremely well documented. She was happy to die and quoted as saying "He shall not have much trouble, for I have a little neck,” when referring to her own beheading. She also wore grey on the day of her death. In the film, Portman is terrified. It’s beautifully done, the shaking and all, but totally inaccurate. The film also has her in blue. The speech she gives, Anne’s famous last words, are pretty much verbatim. However, Portman’s unsteady, watery voice makes her sound like a wimp. I mean, yes she is going to die, but Anne was no wimp. She took on the King of England when no one backed her up. I say she said her words unwaveringly. However, that’s just my opinion.
Natalie Portman ad Eric Bana had a great responsibility when it came to this film: depicting a real person. I’d say they failed. It may be in part the directing, and it is especially the writing, but seeing them will influence a lot of people into thinking that this is accurate history when it is not.
One huge thing about adapting a novel into a movie: make sure that it’s still about the book. Someone got carried away and it became just another tale of Anne. MARY was the main character in the novel. Mary’s travel through the courts, from the country to the King’s bed to the country in exile with child, to her romance with a stranger who escorted her to the country, to her subsequent marriage to that man. Where was all this stuff in the movie today? It threw the book out the window and left me wanting way more Mary and way less Anne. The book is fascinating and I highly recommend it, at least for Mary’s side of the story.
Editing wise, the film was too long, some parts extremely rushed, specifically the gap between Anne and King Henry’s marriage and Elizabeth’s birth, among many others. Also, did anyone notice that the aerial shot above Anne’s beheaded body was stolen straight from Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow”? Just saying.
There were more things wrong with this movie than Henry had wives. And that’s saying something.
I say this movie pulled a banana out of the hat. It did get some magic going, but the wrong kind. If it weren’t for the fact that these were once real people and real evens, it would have been an okay film. But it made me too angry to pull out a rabbit.
I recommend “Anne of the Thousand Days” to anyone who wants to see a more historically accurate, and better acted, version of Anne’s story.