A Film Review of The Other Boleyn Girl
Are you in search of a historical drama or a period movie to escape from the reality of everyday life and disappear among the extravagant skirts of noble women, immerse in the political intrigue of noblemen, and especially watch the glorious uprises and the infamous downfalls of the English nobility? Then ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ might be the thing for you. But if you are looking for a stress-free historical romance with a happy ending that leaves you with a silly smile on your face, then you can continue searching, this is not the right place.
The movie ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ mainly revolves around the Boleyn sisters Mary and Anne. It starts with the marriage of Lady Mary Boleyn and William Carrey and continues with the king’s visit to the Boleyn estate. King Henry VIII at the time was married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. He met Mary and the two soon became lovers. Mary Boleyn was always overshadowed by her younger sister, later the infamous queen of England Anne Boleyn, and her relationship with the king was soon to end, the king had turned his interests to none other than Anne. Once again overshadowed, Mary leaves for the countryside.
The couple, Anne and Henry, overcame many obstacles to marry, the most major one being that he couldn’t divorce his wife. Henry broke from Rome and Catholicism, following the Protestant Reformation and declaring himself the supreme head of the church. This was the opening of the Anglican Church. Anne and Henry finally married and are now a very ‘happy’ couple. Will their relationship, built upon the ruins of other relationships, survive? Will particularly one of them survive? Watch and see.
Starring Natalie Portman, Eric Bana, and Scarlett Johansson ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ is a good piece of what I think we can call a historical thriller. Although the movie bore many historical inaccuracies and was hard for me to watch as a person who enjoys learning history, it is definitely worth a watch if you are interested in the English Reformation and the history of Tudor England. But of course, historical dramas have to make people want to learn more about that period, so don’t forget to do your own research.
