TOBG - Review
(picture taken from the Banatics newsletter)
I watched the movie this night! :)
What to say?
First, all the positive aspects / highlights of the film:
[+] 1
Beautiful pictures of landscape, castles, time of day (night sky, mountains) matched with a great score (good placed drumbeat/thunder for example), beautiful costumes and the typical ancient language deliver a good impression of that era.
[+] 2
Nathalie Portman is outstanding as Anne Boleyn - beautiful, calculating, ambitous, revengeful and deadly desperate in the end - she plays the character very convincingly. Imho, she should be nominated for the Oscar 2009!
[+] 3
All moments / scenes with King Henry. *g* (what a surprise, he??!!!) He looks really great with that hair cut and the beard! I loved his gaze at Anne's neck in the chapel - very sexy indeed!
Unfortunately, the film is rated PG-13 - so only a few erotic scenes with Henry & Mary. (Ups, this is actually a disadvantage of the film, sorry ;)). My sister told me the book is full of sex scenes ... *sighs*
[+] 4
In the second half of the movie, the story line speeds up - it really becomes a historical drama. And I started "suffering" with the girls, so the emotional connection was finally 'established'. :)
Negative aspects:
[-] 1
The movie is focused on the Boleyn sisters for 98% of time - which is really sad! Of course, they are the main characters, but you actually learn almost nothing about Henry's emotional state of mind, his feelings & thoughts. Certainly, he is angry about the lack of a male heir, but for me, he didn't appear as the powerful king by grace of God; he wasn't intimitading as I imagine an absolute monarch at that time.
So, because of the little time & few scenes, Eric could not give a great performance as we are accustomed to. :( The same with Scarlet, too. Imho, she stays bland through the whole film.
[-] 2
Anne's raise (& fall) thrusts Mary's destiny completely aside. Did she care for Henry's only male child? How was her private life with her husband (who disappeared mysteriously from the scene after Mary's first night with Henry)?
[-] 3
It would have been interesting to get to know opinions of the noble men at court, intrigues of other noble families etc (it is only casually mentionend). But well, see [-] 1!
So, these are my first impressions! I really want to watch the movie again, but in English! ;)
And I am curious of your feedback!
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luinhiril) wrote,
good
