“This can be such a competitive business, and it is rare to have two such strong roles for women in one film. Natalie is kind and generous, personally and in her performance. She is inspiring to work with,” says Scarlett Johansson.

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When we first took note of the movie that teamed up Portman and Johansson for the first time, we wanted to point out the apparent drive by some media to portray the two actresses as having an escalating and ugly feud. They were wrong, of course and while the movie is about sibling rivalry, among other things, the competition between the two actresses was not personal, but arose from the demands of their roles. Now that it has been released, I have had the chance to enjoy the movie and see two of my favorite actresses perform together.

What’s the Movie About: Based on the best-selling novel by Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl is an engrossing and sensual tale of intrigue, romance, and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in history. Two sisters, Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) Boleyn, are driven by their ambitious father and uncle to advance the family’s power and status by courting the affections of the king of England (Eric Bana). Leaving behind the simplicity of country life, the girls are thrust into the dangerous and thrilling world of court life - and what began as a bid to help their family develops into a ruthless rivalry between Anne and Mary for the love of the king.

How was it? Period drama is the British area of expertise (and the French, you might add!) Among the most recent and notable movies in this genre are Atonement, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Le Grand Meaulnes and Une Vieille Maîtresse.

I have to say that while The Other Boleyn Girl succeeds in some aspects, it is not a perfect movie. There are some parts that were not even in the book! I have always considered  Dangerous Liaisons one of the best period movies I’ve ever seen and I use it as a sort of yardstick. Why? It has such exquisite style and features the outstanding performances of Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer and John Malcovich. Boleyn has, to a certain extent, some of the fire and beauty of Stephen Frears’ movie, and credit must be given to director Justin Chadwick for attempting to adapt Gregory’s complex book to the big screen.

“Anne had a sense of self-respect that was uncommon for a woman of her time. She thought she deserved a status she was not born with, and this ultimately led to her demise. Marriage then was not about love; it was about uniting families to increase their power. Anne accepts this, but the unexpected thing is that Henry is charming, handsome and educated. She finds him an intellectual companion, and her way of attracting his attention is to challenge him.”

“Scarlett is one of four children. I felt like I had a co-conspirator - she’s a wonderful actor and a very playful person. Peter Morgan agreed that in every scene there were twenty things going on between the girls - loving, fighting, feeling guilty, rivalry, but above all closeness.”

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Scarlett, who was outstanding in another period piece, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, has this to say:

“Not much is known about Mary’s life. You can read different versions of how the affair with Henry came about and nothing is known about her personality. There were no articles written about her, no public interest in her. She was just another of the king’s mistresses. So the best research material I had was Philippa Gregory’s imagining of this person, and that was incredibly helpful to me.

“The Boleyn girls are written as two halves of the same person. I think that is always true of sisters of a similar age, even if they don’t always want to admit it. What Mary admires and is repulsed by in Anne are traits that she wishes she had herself. Similarly, Anne comes to realize at the end of the story that she wishes she had some of Mary’s traits.”

The Final Word: Watch it! The chemistry between Portman and Johansson is incredible. I remembered watching Meryl Streep and Glenn Close together in The House of the Spirits and was reminded of some of their scenes. While Boleyn is quite different, the tension, intrigue and confrontation between the girls is executed to perfection!

Of course, Streep and Close are in a league of their own, but Natalie and Scarlett have so much to offer and I think that given more challenging roles, they would be able to deliver and thus get more recognition as two of today’s finest actresses.

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Comments (4)

Nice People Rule

I am glad that we are on the same page by writing positive intelligent articles as opposed to the usual slanderous rude articles people write just to make sales or get attention. Let's start the new wave of POSITIVE PRESS! Whatdoya say?

Great article!

Jaden @ Screenwriting for Hollywood , March 05, 2008 | url

The Tudors

I just watched the first season of The Tudors and can't imagine all of the Boleyn story (featured there)being condensed into a two hour film.

Reginald Williams , March 06, 2008 | url

...

Jaden, you're absolutely right! I hate to say this but a lot of blogs are in for the money and for the gossip, and exploiting the actors and making sure people all over the world 'celebrate' their misery. It's a vicious cycle and perhaps we can always do something different... at least we can try.

Hi Reginald, yes I find the film to be lacking in some aspects, and if you have read Gregory's book, then you'll see that a lot of the big scenes/passages have been edited or ignored, for the sake of coming up with a feature. However, the movie is good and the actors performed really well- esp Natalie Portman!

Jed , March 06, 2008

Great Review!

A great review and article Jed! I'm not what you'd call into alot of history/period films in general, but I am interested in them when I like a certain actor/actress that's in the film. I too like Natalie Portman, so after reading your review, you got me interested in this.... The costumes do look fabulous as well, from what I could see in the trailer.

Jaden - Like Jed, I too agree very much with your comment, and that were in agreement about writing more positive articles like this one. It's become an epidemic how so many websites related to movies/actors/actresses post such nasty comments, all just to get attention or make money. Jaden, your site posts many great positive and interesting articles as well, and gives a very good representation of positive press....Let the new wave of positive press begin, I agree!

Welcome Reginald....I too watched the first season of The Tudors, and I believe its been said that the TV series has some inaccuracies as well.

Jan , March 08, 2008 | url

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