Mary Queen of Scots
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Mary
Stuart (1542-1587) is a tragic figure whose life story does not
naturally lend itself to the big screen. After all, despite being
King James V's only legitimate offspring at the time of his death,
she spent most of her childhood exiled in France and over 18 years of
her adulthood imprisoned in England before being beheaded at the
behest of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
But
that hasn't discouraged filmmakers from periodically taking liberties
with the facts in order to mount an entertaining, if fanciful, biopic
about the ill-fated aristocrat. Katharine Hepburn played Mary in a
1936 version directed by John Ford, while Vanessa Redgrave landed an
Academy Award nomination for her rendition in a 1971 remake which
netted a half-dozen Oscar nominations.
Now,
Saoirse
Ronan stars as the beleaguered
queen in a visually-captivating costume drama marking the directorial
debut of Josie Rourke. The movie is based on John A. Guy's 2004
biography, “Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart,” though
the production seems less concerned with historical accuracy than
with flamboyant hair and makeup.
You
can forget about the book's assertion about being “true.” For
example, Mary and Elizabeth (Margot Robbie) never met in real life,
yet this picture's climax revolves around their rendezvousing for a
face-to-face showdown fabricated for dramatic effect. Equally
disconcerting is that the film hypes female solidarity as a hot
button issue, a glaring reminder of how a movie often tells you more
about the period in which it was made than the one it is supposedly
about.
Even
if you're inclined to forgive all of the above, perhaps the picture's
most annoying flaw is that it opens with the heroine's execution, and
is then followed by a series of flashbacks leading back to Mary's
demise. Why spoil the ending by assuming everyone in your audience is
a history buff who knows how the story's going to turn out?
An
anti-climactic overindulgence in pomp and pageantry designed for fans
of British royalty.
Fair (1
star)
Rated R
for violence and sexuality
Running
time: 124 minutes
Production
Companies: Focus Features / Working Title Films / Perfect World
Pictures
Studio:
Focus Features
To
see a trailer for Mary Queen of Scots, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnqjSgMU36U
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