The Other Boleyn Girl
2003
An extraordinary tale of sex, passion and royal intrigue. This is the little-known story of Mary Boleyn who was mistress to King Henry VIII before he married her older sister, Anne. Inspired by Philippa Gregory's novel of the same name, this film is about great families jockeying for position and using their daughters as pawns .. Read more
| Starring | Yolanda Vasquez, Jared Harris, Natascha McElhone, Steven Mackintosh |
|---|---|
| Director | Phillipa Lowthorpe |
| Genres | Drama, Romance |
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The Other Boleyn Girl
An extraordinary tale of sex, passion and royal intrigue. This is the little-known story of Mary Boleyn who was mistress to King Henry VIII before he married her older sister, Anne. Inspired by Philippa Gregory's novel of the same name, this film is about great families jockeying for position and using their daughters as pawns in a deadly game. Set during one of the most notorious periods in British regal history, it is a powerful narrative and at its heart is the relationship between two rivals - the Boleyn sisters.
| Starring | Yolanda Vasquez, Jared Harris, Natascha McElhone, Steven Mackintosh, Jodhi May |
|---|---|
| Director | Phillipa Lowthorpe |
| Studio | 2 ENTERTAIN VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 30 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Romance |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 06 Oct 2008 Production year: 2003 |
| Format | DVD |
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Most helpful member's review
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34 out of 34 people found this review helpful
Drab dramatisation of a colourful novel
This British, small-screen, and first, dramatisation of Phillipa Gregory's best-selling novel was originally shown as part of the BBC's Xmas and New Year package for 2003 on BBC2 - it was eagerly anticipated by many Gregory fans who had read the book and knew it would only be a matter of time before someone attempted to put it on screen but tellingly this version was 'inspired' by the Gregory novel and was filmed following sessions of 'improvisation' by the actors - it shows. Unfortunately, despite an understated and charming performance by Jared Harris as Henry, this piece falls pretty flat. The problem seems to be that all life, drama and colour has been drained out of it - which appears to be deliberate 'styling' with a paired down, 'minimalist' approach (even McElhone and May's dresses look positively drab and puritanical) - and in doing so loses much of the magic of the book. Beautiful Natasha McElhone is uncomfortably too old for the part of Mary Boleyn and for inexplicable reasons is portrayed as the older sister of Anne - in the book (and mostly agreed by historians) Anne was the older sister. This type of apparently unnecessary deviation of Gregory's story occurs quite frequently here - possibly to assist with this abridged retelling - but results in a frustratingly thin plot. In contrast May fairs better in the more beefy role of Anne and does succeed in procuring much sympathy from the viewer in her inevitable and tragic fate - but all this feels a bit 'too little too late'. The usually wonderful Philip Glenister turns up here in a woeful example of miscasting (as Mary's second husband) which again only serves to add to the awkwardness of the whole thing. Anyone who has read the book will know that the story is colourful and full of life - totally driven by ambition, passion, envy and an ever present threat of real danger - all this appears to have been lost here with the bleaching out of colour from the frame. The result is something which is almost unrecognisable from the original novel - but yet much closer than the 2008 Hollywood version.
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Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
The Other Boleyn Girl (BBC version)
Unfortunately ordered this version in error as mean to get the latest film version.
Having said that I still enjoyed the story though I felt the film style was a little strange.
Well acted but very much a BBC production rather than the lavish Hollywood one I was expecting. -
News and features
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The Other Boleyn Girl
- 03 Mar 2008
Anne (Natalie Portman) we've all heard of, her sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson), not so much. But it was Mary who first slept with Henry VIII (Eric Bana), and (according to Philippa Gregory's best-selling historical novel at any rate) she even bore him a son. In one of the more risible scenes in what is for the most part a brisk but decorous melodrama, Henry is distracted from the birth by Anne's peevish promise that, yes, his love will be reciprocated, if only he will make a decent woman of... Read more
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