Even with an all-star cast, including famed actresses Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, “The Other Boleyn Girl,” adapted from Philippa Gregory’s historical novel, falls short of a movie worth viewing.
“The Other Boleyn Girl” is a 16th century tragedy surrounding the two Boleyn sisters, Anne (Portman) and Mary (Johansson). Mary, the younger of the two, is happily wed to the son of a merchant. After the wedding, the Boleyn girls’ uncle reveals to their father that the king of England (Eric Bana) is unhappily married to Catherine of Aragon. The Queen is unable to bear a son, a male heir to the throne, thus the king seeks a mistress.
The ambitious Sir Boleyn proposes that Anne become the king’s mistress. The Boleyn family, therefore, hosts the king and his court at their country house for a hunt. When the king is injured after following Anne into a ravine, however, Mary is sent to clean his wounds.
The king chooses Mary instead of Anne, and requests that the Boleyn family joins his court. Mary and Anne become ladies in waiting to Queen Catherine, and Mary’s husband is sent away on a mission for the king. Jealous of Mary’s success with the king, Anne engages in inappropriate relations with a taken man and is exiled to France to work in the French court.
Mary becomes pregnant and is bedridden. The Boleyns fear that the king will find a replacement mistress for Mary, so Anne is summoned back from France to hold the king’s attention until the birth of his son. Anne convinces the king to choose her over her pregnant sister.
The rest of the story is history, and saying that a certain sister loses her head shouldn’t give much away.
The film was supposed to be a serious tragedy, yet, at all the pivotal moments of plot development, the theater was not filled with the silence of anticipation. Instead, it was laughter. There is a total of three types of scenes: people talking to each other, riding horses and looking out of windows. After a while, it gets repetitive; seeing Portman or Johansson riding is no longer interesting or intense, but annoying.
Bana has an interesting take on his character’s development. With the exception of the numerous occasions when he beds or is aroused by a Boleyn, he keeps the same expression on his face. The few times he shows a different form of emotion, the emotion is expressed mostly by the angle of his head. It is easy for the audience to empathize with the Boleyn girls because it is so difficult to like Bana.
Bana always walks in a fast stride throughout the movie, reminiscent of a New Yorker rushing to work. Because we only see him walking quickly, the sense of urgency to the audience is lost, and he only looks ridiculous.
The relationship between Johansson and Portman is interesting. Johansson plays the title role and is a character whom audiences will love from start to finish. Portman’s character is more historically known and is altogether more dramatic. Her portrayal at times is heart-wrenching, making her pain clear to the audience. It makes one wonder if she actually regretted her actions. At other times, it almost seems too dramatic, which actually left the audience laughing at the showing I attended.
The audience empathizes with Johansson throughout the entire movie. She remains a strong figure even in the most difficult of situations. Her steadfastness in character makes the audience know that she is certain of her actions and shows devotion to her family no matter what. It is only at the end that she finally leaves her family, which is to the benefit of her now motherless niece.
The film was over-hyped for what it actually is; the overall viewing was disappointing. Hopefully we can find Johansson and Portman together again in a better film.
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