Review of The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) by Mariebella C — 21 Apr 2013

This period piece should have been better than it was. Telling the story of how Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn came to be his second wife, in the process prompting Henry to create the Church of England, this film has it all: excellent performances, sumptuous costumes, real castles, beautiful cinematography.

Yet somehow it's less than the sum of its parts. I think for me, part of the problem was the visual style. With a colour palette dominated by yellows, oranges, browns, and golds, there was something about the film's look that seemed out of place.

Occasional establishing shots of time-lapse clouds speeding above lonely castles were particularly jarring. The characters didn't seem to inhabit the time they lived in; they somehow seemed too modern, although I can't put my finger on why it seemed that way.

An additional problem is that none of the characters is particularly likeable. Anne and her sister Mary are both scheming to win the heart of King Henry, who is already married. Their father and uncle are scheming to have either or both women bed the king to secure more prestige and perks for their family.

And Henry just seems to want sex and a male heir, and falls for whichever woman is most available at the moment. This is a movie based on a 600-page novel, and I suspect in boiling down the story to its essence for the screen, some of the emotional depth was lost.

I'm tempted to read the book, but I don't need to see the movie again.