Anne and Mary Boleyn are sent to court to entice the young King after the Queen falls out of favour, when she delivers another dead child.
The Boleyn’s Uncle, the Duke of Norfolk hatches a plan so that Anne can attract the King and become his mistress to allow the family to prosper. Unfortunately, during a riding incident the King is hurt and Anne is sent away to France.
But Mary, although married, captures the King’s attention and becomes the Royal Mistress. At first the King is infatuated and the Boleyn’s prosper, but when Mary becomes pregnant, she must begin her lying in to allow the baby to grow.
This leaves the Boleyn’s vulnerable and so Anne is called back for. Where once she was an impetuous youth, she is now a calculating lady who has her eyes on the King and the power that comes with it.
She refuses to bed him and will only agree once she is Queen. The King is infatuated and so begins a separation from Rome, dividing the country and changing the face of English religion forever.
I found this to be an enjoyable film despite all the main leads being non-British actors and sometimes their accents did slip. Natalie Portman who played Anne was the best at keeping hers and told the story well. Scarlett Johannson while beautiful is fantastic at emoting through her body language.
Eric Bana as the King Henry, was only in it for a bit but he owned the screen whenever he was given some screen time. Fantastic version of the book this is based on.
4 out of 5 stars.
Random fact: Natalie Portman (Anne) and Scarlett Johansson (Mary) say that their costumes were the biggest contribution to them knowing their character. Their dresses gave them good posture and the colors helped represent their personality. With Anne, her bold and simple colors show that she wants a main goal. Mary’s softer and much more complicated dress design shows that she is a more modest person and tries to be herself.
