The Other Boleyn Girl

If you've read the novel this movie is based upon ('The Other Boleyn Girl,' by Phillipa Gregory), you'll probably be a bit disappointed in the movie. Natalie Portman does give a good performance as Anne Boleyn, but Scarlett Johansson is less than stellar as Anne's sister, Mary. The script focuses too heavily on Anne and her relationship with Henry VIII, ignoring the other characters that made the book so interesting: the Duke of Norfolk, Anne and Mary's brother George and the role he played in Anne's downfall are largely ignored.

Those of you who are familiar with Henry VIII are likely to be left scratching their heads over the choice of Eric Bana in the role of Henry. While I'm sure Mr. Bana is a fine actor, he bears no physical resemblance to Henry at all. Furthermore, the script writers left his quite one dimensional. In their efforts to showcase the hold Anne Boleyn had over Henry, he's left appearing like a dog on a leash, rather than besotted.

Great time periods are compressed as if events that, in reality, occurred over years and years appear to have happened in just days. This leaves the film with a disjointed feeling.

The role of Henry Percy, Anne's first husband, provides unintentional comic relief. While he appears in several scenes (and is quite important in Anne Boleyn's life story), the poor character has no lines whatsoever and the actor is left resorting to over-dramatic facial expressions. Very funny to watch.

The one bright star in the production is the performance of Ana Torrent as Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife. Not only are her physical attributes perfect for the role, but her performance is utterly believable and left me wishing her role had been larger.

If you're unfamiliar with the original novel or Anne Boleyn's story, you may very well enjoy this film. Do not, however, believe this film is in any way historically accurate. If you loved the novel and are a history buff, you might want to skip this one altogether and go rent a copy of "The Lion in Winter" for a great retelling of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine....much more accurate and a good history lesson, too.

I like this movie because one of my favorite actresses gets to show her mean side. She usually place the heroin or nice girl and it was great to see her twisted. Other than that I love movies that reflect what happened in history and Henry VIII was in one of those time periods that makes you want to find out more and watch more movies. My interest started with the first season of the TUDORS.

Version: U.S.A / Region A
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 1:55:18
Movie size: 29,25 GB
Disc size: 43,06 GB
Average video bit rate: 23.95 Mbps
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/16-bit) English / French (Canadian) / Spanish (Latin American)

Subtitles: English / English SDH / French (Parisian) / Spanish (Latin American)

Number of chapters: 16

#Audio Commentary
#Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD, 24 minutes)
#To Be A Lady (HD, 11 minutes)
#Translating History to Screen (HD, 10 minutes)
#Members of the Court Biographies (HD, 17 minutes)
#Camera Tests (HD, 2 minutes)
#HD Trailers
#BD-Live
#Picture in Graphics Track

Do you remember that "telephone" game? The child at the beginning of the circle whispers a word to the kid next to them and it passes down the line becoming more distorted as it goes along. By the time it makes it back to the beginning it usually has no resemblance to what it was supposed to be.

This is a pretty good metaphor for "The Other Boleyn Girl." The dramatic license in Phillipa Gregory's caused controversy but ultimately resulted in an entertaining story.

In contrast, the film plays somewhat like a game of telephone that started with a Cliff Notes version of Gregory's novel. As the film progress, the storyline spirals farther and farther outside the realm of credibility.

The life and times of Henry VIII were tumultuous, dramatic, and populated by interesting characters. It should have been an easy task to write a reasonably entertaining script about this era. Unfortunately, a fifth grader's plagarized essay on this period would a lot easier to get through than this extremely boring and disappointing film adaptation.

I can't fault Eric Bana's performance. He made a great Henry VIII despite limited screen time. Other cast members made valiant efforts to squeeze something out of the terrible script they were saddled with. Sadly, the beautiful costumes and scenery might have been an asset to this film if I could have stayed awake to appreciate them better.

Avoid this turkey.

Good period piece, exceptional costuming, sets.Good Story, but had difficulty picturing Natalie Portman in the role as the deceitful sister.