Regardless of history, just consider it as a Hollywood movie. This is invested by Columbia and produced by the BBC Film Council. The Hollywood movie The Other Boleyn Girl released in February 2008 is not too bad. The reasons are as follows:
1.
Although the story is a period film with court background, the theme is not the political struggle between conspirators, but the sexual struggle between women. This kind of film routine should usually be:
simple and beautiful young girl + ambitious conspiracy house politician + greedy king + sinister court struggle = all stories are possible.
However, now it is not only a beautiful young girl, but There are two, and one of them is not so simple, not to mention that the two are sisters, so of course there is a play. Sisters fight for men, and the man is the King of England, well, you can imagine the rest. On
the drama elements, how can it be considered complete: ambition, conspiracy, seduction, adultery, pregnancy, miscarriage, illegitimate child, marriage, divorce, trial, incest , Decapitation...It's really faint to list them all. The screenwriter and novelist (Philippa Gregory) must have racked their brains. For a Drama with a court background, what else can the audience ask for?
I think I learned in my junior high school history class that King Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church in 153x. From then on, Britain believes in Protestantism. Wow, this is a profound historical fact, just like the subtitles at the end of the film say. However, our junior high school history book does not say that Henry VIII did this because he could not get a certain woman. What the facts are, what does Henry VIII think. Only he knows. Historians can make all kinds of criticisms of the film, but viewers (like me) who are insightful and pursuing a cheap plot find this plot very useful. Henry VIII is really short-sighted.
Of course, his lack of heart in the film is far more than this. Hahaha. Eric Bana, the king, is probably the most facial-symbolized character.
There are a lot of stories that are extremely unhistorical. For example, according to historical records, Mary had a relationship with the King of France before she married her husband William. The family couldn't stand it, so they quickly caught her from France. Lest she get into trouble outside. In this case, Mary is not a fuel-efficient lamp, nor is she so innocent, kind and simple. Of course, Mary in this film has a perfect character, otherwise how would the story be played.
Anyway, picking the wrong mentality by picking up historical facts is not conducive to watching movies. Compared to a historian, an audience (like me) who has a shallow understanding of British history at that time has more fun in the cinema. It seems that the few old British ladies sitting next to each other have also had a lot of fun. The feelings of the British people towards the royal family are very interesting. Everyone is curious.
2. The pomp is
beautiful.
The theme music is pretty good. The picture of the whole film is very romantic, because it is a medieval court drama, not to mention that it is still centered on women, which is easy to understand.
The film opens with a golden wheat field, piano music is accompanied by the laughter of three children, Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth are walking in the woods, looking at their three children, and discussing the character and marriage of Ann and Mary. Very straightforward.
There is also the section where the king is coming to their house: the kid on horseback saw the king's large number of horses approaching along the valley from a distance, and he rode his horses galloping like an enemy, screaming: THE KING! THE KING! Then a set of shots: people grilling meat in the yard, people preparing dishes in the kitchen, all panicked like a headless fly; parents in the room are nervous, and Ann, who is dressing up, rushes to the window in a hurry, Mary Subsequently. We saw two young and beautiful silhouettes, reflecting the sunlight in front of the window, Ann thoughtful and nervous, Mary careless and innocent. This shot was well planned. I don't know how many take was taken at that time. laugh.
The costumes and props are all standard. The costume design and art director of this film should nominate an award or something. Colombia is really not a fool. Of course, you have to cooperate with the BBC to shoot things in the British court. BBC Films has always had quality assurance on such issues. And I always like to see beautiful blondes dressed in costumes smiling, talking, bowing and dancing under the golden lights. :D
3, the characters
alone are the bombs when these two young actresses work together on the same stage. Presumably the producer knows this. Personally, I think Portman and Johansson are both very good. Of course they are not good enough to win the Academy Award for Best Actress or something, but they are both competent. Neither of them are British actors, but the British accents are pretty good. The empress from Spain also has a good accent.
Portman is very suitable to play Ann, she is not that kind of simple, kind and artless good girl, so far her most critically acclaimed role should be the precocious little girl Matilda in Leon (this killer is not too cold) , And Alice in Closer, are both complicated and unpredictable characters. Portman's Ann Boleyn has a character, charming enough, tough enough, and ruthless enough. Her witty remarks in the court may be slightly pretentious, but they are not far from the mark.
King Henry VIII: [to Anne] And what would you know of great men?
Anne Boleyn: I'd know one, if he were before me.
King Henry VIII: Do you see one here?
Anne Boleyn: [walks about the hall , surveying the men] Looking, my lord.
Anne Boleyn: [stops in front of the King and smiles] Ah, found one.
What is worth mentioning is her smile, the kind of smile with the eyes fixed on you, which is very charming.
Johansson playing Mary is also good. Mary is similar to Griet in Girl with Perl Earring. This low eyebrow is pleasing to the eye, and she understands the righteousness, a good family woman in that society of that era. Of course, no one knows what Mary was like in history. Ann Boleyn is even better known, because she is counted as Queen anyway, although only for 3 years. In comparison, Mary is a character hidden in the back of history. This kind of character has always been favored by novelists recently, because there is space imaginable. Mary here is an absolute protagonist, the so-called positive character, the title (also novel) The Other Boleyn Girl actually refers to her. Um. Although the author's preaching is a bit strong, it is a movie anyway.
Another person worth mentioning:
Kristin Scott-Thomas!
She is rarely seen on the Hollywood screen. A woman with temperament. The role of Lady Elizabeth is very good. She has always been a wise opponent: against her daughter's involvement with the king. I am worried that this will bring disaster to their family. She is right. The most memorable line is what she said: What IS treason?
By the way, the overall level of lines in this film is relatively mediocre.
Juno Temple
Hmm! This little girl was born in 1989! This tender. Here she plays Jane Parker, the one who used to be lady-in-waiting under Catherine of Aragon and later married George Boleyn and finally told the king about Ann and George. Is a troublemaker. Last year, she played the cousin who was raped by the owner of the chocolate factory in Atonement last year, but finally married him. She is also a troublemaker. Before that, she played Cate Blanchett's adolescent rebellious daughter in Notes On a Scandal, and she was still a troublemaker. laugh.
Then there is Alfie Allen. The two errands sent by the king to give Portman gifts were returned. Haha, this super actor, he also ran a trick in Atonement last year. Today I found that the messenger he played was very pleasantly surprised, because I saw the drama played by Live himself half a month ago. :)
Good! After finally speaking all the serious things, let’s start talking irresponsibly:
Let ’s talk about one of the concepts conveyed in this film: among the messy things of the English royal family, what is the top priority?
The answer is undoubtedly: be pregnant and have a son!
Not to mention the birth of a son, even when the news of pregnancy was announced, you can see the expressions on the faces of Mary, her father and her uncle... it feels like one person is pregnant, and the dog and the dog ascend to heaven. (Laughs)
Of course, the poor are still women. It's really hard to have a baby! It's even harder to have a son! Lucky on this issue, such as Mary, was favored and became pregnant, and then she was locked up in a dark room and stayed in bed all day, which was similar to imprisonment. When her son was born, she also fell out of favor. Go to the country; those who are unlucky, such as Ann or Catherine of Aragon, screamed heartbreakingly on the day of childbirth, and then were exhausted, hugged their daughter in disappointment, or gave birth to a dead baby crying bitterly. What's worse is that Ann sleeps on the bed well at night, and the child is gone (God!). The ancients are so pitiful.
The little trivia that suddenly came to mind:
The first collaboration between Johansson and Krinstin Scott-Thomas was a horse whisperer in 1998. The Horse Whisperer, mother-daughter relationship. In this film they are still a mother-daughter relationship. Also, it is said that the horse whisperer also found Portman at the time, and she pushed it off. This inextricably linked connection...
Ah, a lot of words have been typed! worn out.
The film received mixed reviews or even more ruined reviews, but I think it's not bad. Not a classic but definitely not a bad movie. It must be because I watched it in the cinema. :)
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