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Rating of
2/4
"The Other Boleyn Girl" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 09/14/2015
Two sisters share a love triangle with King Henry VIII when their ambitious family present them in their attempts to curry favour and increase their standing. The Other Boleyn Girl falls squarely into the trap that is so common to the adaptation of a historical novel; it creates a sensuous world of attractive actors dressed in attractive costumes, populating attractive sets and attractive locations shot through attractive filters, all the while forgetting to include a script with any depth, sophistication or engaging characters. There is clearly a wealth of material in the tale of Henry and his wives, the obvious meat of the story here being the role of women as pawns, honey traps and breeding machines for the use of patriarchal society. But all of this gets skimmed over like a Cliff …
Rating of
3/4
Juicy
Franz Patrick - wrote on 08/12/2008
I didn’t know what to expect coming into this film. I heard from a friend that there were a lot of drama here so I decided to rent it. Plus, the trailers looked very promising. I’ve always wanted to see Scarlett Johansson go head-to-head with Natalie Portman because I see a lot of similarities with both actresses. Both of them delivered even though their characters are two polar opposites. I heard that the story is not necessarily accurate but I didn’t care because it was entertaining. It’s like watching a season finale of “One Tree Hill,” “The O.C.” or “Gossip Girl” when things are revealed in very dramatic ways and the characters (both good and bad) ultimately deserve what they get. I must commend Portman for being deliciously evil here because I’ve always seen …
Rating of
2.5/4
good story, mediocre story-telling
Tino - wrote on 05/22/2008
The Other Boleyn Girl is a period piece to say the very least. It flaunts the decor of both scenery and characters every chance it gets. The concepts and character choices may seem ridiculous now, but during this era, they were very relevant. There is pretty good acting here, especially from Portman and Sturgess. It is an excellent story, that can be brutal, heartful, and hard to watch. That is where the film fails. The problem is not in the story, but in the direction. The story-telling is choppy, with some unconvincing plot devices. For example, less than half-way into the two-hour film, Portman's character Anne, is banished to France for an indefinite amount of time. Months apparently pass by in maybe 5 minutes, without any visual displays of time, then Anne is brought back home, a …
Rating of
1/4
beautiful clothes
phantom - wrote on 03/20/2008
if you want to watch a good film about Anne Boleyn, this isn't it. Go watch Anne of aThousand Days. Or if you want some tudor drama, Man for All Seasons. Or any of the innumerable shows on the history channel covering the subject. as I sat there in the theater i found myself cataloging every movie with henry the 8th, listing them off, you shouldn't be able to do that if the film you are watching is...what's the word?... good. Do not watch this film, its only redeaming feature are the beautiful clothes.
I have not read the book, I cannot speak to it's inaccuracies which I'm sure are legion. This film makes what happened over the course of about 5 years seem like maybe 2. And the timeline of events seems to have been writen down on 3x5 cards and then randomly reordered. Saint Tomas More …
Rating of
2/4
Ridiculously melodramatic
newmans_own - wrote on 03/03/2008
The film would not be quite so insufferably soap opera-ish were it not for the jealous, seething and ruthless portrayal of Anne Boleyn. Midway through the film, when Anne is called from France to return to court and seduce the king, she is given a montage as if Freddy Kruger or Michael Meyers were being resurrected. What surrounds it is a large quantity of Anne either glaring at people or delivering sexually-tinged comebacks. It is a credit that Portman manages to lose her typical cutesiness but she becomes rather trying and overtly weepy towards the end. It’s understandable that one would be upset when about to be decapitated, but when all she does is cry for the final half-hour of the film, it gets a bit old.
The real (and only) surprise here is Johansson, who gives an impressive …
