Two sisters contend for the affection of king henry viii. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 11/25/2008 Starring: Natalie Portman Eric Bana Run time: 115 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Justin Chadwick

A tale of two sisters competing for the same king, The Other Boleyn Girl uses historical facts as window dressing for this work of fiction that is entertaining, if not wholly believable. Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is the doe-eyed vixen ordered by her power-hungry uncle to bewitch King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Her shy sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) has always been in Anne's shadow; Anne is prettier, more accomplished, and desired by many men. So when the King picks Mary--the "other Boleyn girl"--as his mistress, Anne turns on her sister and schemes to become not only the King's consort, but his new queen. With a pair of American actresses in the lead roles and an Aussie portraying their hunky object of desire, the English accents are all over the place in this period piece with a modern feel. Though the Boleyn girls' mother points out that her "daughters are being traded like cattle for the advancement of men," it is Anne who ultimately throws her slight weight around to bully Henry into doing her bidding. When he begs her to give herself to him, Anne--wearing a Carrie Bradshaw-esque "B" pendant on her neck--counters, "Make me your Queen." Is the audience really supposed to believe that Henry the VIII--the most powerful man in the land--would divorce Catherine of Aragon, separate from the Catholic church, and put England in upheaval simply because Anne refused to sleep with him until he jumped through all her hoops? "I have torn this country apart for you," he hisses at her before finally getting his way. Based on Philippa Gregory's bestselling novel of the same name, The Other Boleyn Girl features an attractive cast and a familiar plot with some icky twists. Kieran McGuigan's cinematography is breathtaking and is as crucial to setting the film's tone as the dialogue. Actually, it fares better: Lines such as "Well? Did he have you?!" sound almost comical. But the sweeping shots of Henry's kingdom and the carefully framed close-ups of Portman and Johansson are breathtaking in their beauty and say what words simply cannot. --Jae-Ha Kim

Get to Know the Cast of The Other Boleyn Girl
(click on images to see more films from each actor)

Natalie Portman (Anne Boleyn)

Scarlett Johansson (Mary Boleyn)

Eric Bana (Henry Tudor)	Jim Sturgess (George Boleyn)	Kristin Scott Thomas (Lady Elizabeth Boleyn)

Beyond The Other Boleyn Girl

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The Soundtrack

Stills from The Other Boleyn Girl (click for larger image)

***1/2

Though no "A Man for all Seasons" by any stretch of the imagination, Justin Chadwick`s "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a handsomely mounted, reasonably entertaining soap opera set in the politically-charged court of King Henry VIII.

Based on the highly fictionalized and speculative novel by Phillipa Gregory, the movie chronicles the 16th Century catfight between the two Boleyn sisters - the more famous one, Anne, whose marriage to the divorced king resulted in England's final rupture with the Church of Rome (and the eventual loss of her own head when she, like his first wife Catherine, could not provide him with a male heir), and the lesser known, already married Mary who, at least as portrayed in this film, was every bit as attractive to the king as the sister who would eventually win his hand.

The Peter Morgan screenplay reduces the complex historical events to the level of a Harlequin Romance, pitting the two sisters against one another in a competition for the king's affections. All of this is of considerably less interest than the almost ruthless, behind-the-scenes machinations undertaken by the girls' family to groom them as concubines for the crass purpose of currying royal favor. In fact, it is when the movie touches on the mores of the time and of life at court that it is at its most compelling.

Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana all seem to be having great fun playing at dress-up, but the richest performances are delivered by Mark Rylance and David Morrissey as the girls' calculating father and uncle respectively, and Kristin Scott Thomas as their levelheaded, pragmatic mother, helpless to prevent the tragedy that was doomed to engulf her family.

The costumes and settings are nothing short of sensational, and they alone maintain our interest even when the scriptwriting fails to live up to the level of its subject.

*The Other Boleyn Girl* is a beautiful Hollywood production which has nothing to do with true history.
Many important facts are incorrect and in addition to this some of them have never happend in history.

If Justion Chadwick would have stuck to true history this movie could have been terrific.

Contrary to the interessting Tudor-history this movie is a lukewarm experiment.

In my opinion this movie comes in the same league as *Elisabeth* and *Elisabeth: The Golden Age*. The director Shekhar Kapur presents history after his own fashion as well as Justin Chadwick in *The Other Boleyn Girl*.

Because of the mutilated history I cannot recommend this film.

The only things worth seeing are the costumes and the acting ability of the actors.

My impression was this particular Blu-Ray was crystal clear on my 50 inch plasma. Every detail of the faces that you'd never expect to notice, I noticed. The clarity was stunning although I've seen other Blue Ray movies that I haven't noticed the clarity as much. The movie itself is not 5 star, but 4 or so.

It was a great movie truely worth every dollar if you buy it you will not be disappointed at all. It was truely one for my collection.

At first when I saw the cover I wasn't so motivated. I am not such a fan of these historical movies but this one was incredible! It made me cry and it moved me and touched me. The story is so engaging everything is perfect. I have classified it as my favorite movie, what more can I say?!