DVD
REVIEW: The Other Boleyn Girl
06/20/08
When watching The
Other Boleyn Girl, you can’t help but wonder if this is a
true historical fiction movie. I had trouble watching this
film because of that reason. Once you begin to watch it as a
drama, it begins to become more appealing. This film is a
pretty accurate adaptation of Philippa Greggory’s novel, The
Other Boleyn Sister. In the film two sisters, Anne Boleyn
(Natalie Portman) and Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson)
battle over the love of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).
Conflict arises as the king dabbles between both sisters,
yet in the end sisterhood becomes a stronger bond than love.
In reality, this film is an attempt by director Justin
Chadwick to mainstream from television drama to the big
screen. He used a well known cast to draw attention to the
film. There is no doubt that Scarlett Johansson, Natalie
Portman and Eric Bana performed as well as expected. The
movie is nothing more than a traditional drama. There was
nothing that was innovative. I was disappointed because I
expected something along the lines of Elizabeth. It is in
fact the story of her mother, Anne Boleyn.
In all actuality it was merely a story of the discord
between two sisters and their reconciliation in the end.
There is a villain (Anne), a handsome king (Henry), and the
sweet and innocent doe eyed girl who is always wrongfully
accused and massively overlooked (Mary). Eventually, the
sweet sister becomes the center of attention, while the
conniving sister can not handle being overlooked. One
sabotages the other and sets her eyes to the ultimate prize,
the king and the throne. The story line seemed like a soap
opera, and for that reason it will be appealing to a broader
audience. It was surprising to see that the most stinging
remarks come from Katherine of Aragon (Ana Torrent), whose
acting seems to impact the viewer more so than the rest of
the cast.
This movie is a pretty movie to watch. It has very beautiful
scenery as well as beautiful costumes. It is also fair to
say that it has a fairly attractive cast, and therefore that
too makes the film worth watching. Other than that, this
movie was nothing out of this world. It was an entertaining
movie, with pretty costumes and handsome actors. It is not a
total waste of time, but it is also not a phenomenal film.
It is worth watching, if nothing else strikes your fancy.
Review By Mady Gars
mady@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“To Be a Lady”: Featurette on the life of a
lady and court etiquette in the 16th Century England (10:34)
“Translating History to the Screen”:
Featurette on how filmmakers brought the best-selling book
to life (10:06)
Members of the Court Biographies – Go in-depth
and explore the real lives of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII
and others (16:11)
Camera Tests with
Narration by director Justin Chadwick (2:16)
Deleted & Extended
Scenes: A total of eleven deleted scenes including
and alternate ending. All worth watching. (20:29)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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