by Missy Thompson
STAFF WRITER
It is difficult to watch movies based on historical events and wonder whether the events are being portrayed accurately. It is even harder when the events date back to the 16th century in England when few records were kept detailing peoples' lives. While watching a movie such as "The Other Boleyn Girl," I know Hollywood has taken over history.
Most people understand what is meant by the "Hollywood affect" -- the suggestion that the facts a film is based on are exaggerated or changed to make the story more appealing to a wider audience. I appreciate this when it makes dull films exciting. But the well-known history of sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn hardly needs exaggeration.
The dialogue in the first 20 minutes or so of "The Other Boleyn Girl" feels like an elementary school play. Acting from Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman is stilted and awkward. However, as the film delves into the plot and explores the intricacies of the sisters' lives, the pacing and acting picks up. Unfortunately, the last quarter of the movie drags on and will have audiences wanting the film to conclude.
Despite Johansson and Portman's mediocre acting -- and unbelievable British accents -- in the beginning, Eric Bana, who plays King of England Henry Tudor, is wonderful throughout. It is clear from Bana's first scene that he has enveloped the history of King Henry and pours it into his character.
The dialogue is surprisingly forced in "The Other Boleyn Girl." This is even more shocking since the screenplay was penned by Peter Morgan, who was nominated for an Academy Award for writing the original screenplay of "The Queen."
In "The Other Boleyn Girl," Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance), with the help of the Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey), strive to get their families name to the highest level of power in England. Thomas's daughters Anne (Portman) and Mary (Johansson) are lovely girls who are of age to marry. Although Mary is the younger of the two, she is wed to William Carey (Benedict Cumberbatch) while Anne is sent off to work for the Queen of England, Katherine of Aragon (Ana Torrent), who recently gave birth to a son who died in childbirth. Because Katherine has yet to produce an heir for King Henry, Thomas and the Duke wish Anne to seduce the king.
The tables begin to turn when the king starts fancying Mary. Although both claim love for one another, Mary's first child, a son, cannot be the next heir to the thrown since he was born out of wedlock. In the meantime, Anne is sent to France to work in the queen's court there. The Boleyn family starts to fall apart when Thomas arranges a marriage between his son George (Jim Sturgess) and Jane Seymour (Corinne Galloway). After Anne's return, she sweeps King Henry off his feet as he becomes unsatisfied until he can have Anne all to himself. So starts the demise of the Boleyn family name.
The good thing about "The Other Boleyn Girl" is that it causes people to questions whether the events portrayed in the film actually happened. They may even feel inclined to read the novel by Philippa Gregory upon which this film is based. However, it does feel long and slow in parts with very little action to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. "The Other Boleyn Girl" is an OK film that tries desperately to be good, but the Hollywood affect is overpowering.
missy@tooeletranscript.com