Rama’s SCREEN

Based on a novel that I didn’t get to read, this movie’s not bad at all. You have two beautiful women fighting over one man, or according to the story actually, one woman turns out to be more evil than the other. Two sisters bound to be rivals. It comes with being siblings in a family that’s messed up to the bone. Goes to show that… high social status doesn’t guarantee a normal life whatsoever especially in the century where the fate of women are decided by men who don’t know the first thing about making a woman happy. THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL is the heartbreaking story before Elizabeth.

King Henry’s wife couldn’t bear a child and so he goes out to find a mistress who would give him the male heir. Anne (Portman) and Marie (Scarlett) are sisters who love each other but their love for the king has turned them to grow apart. In the times where the fate of a woman is decided by her father, this is a tale that would give a lesson of how idiotic the mindset was back then.

What I really enjoy about this movie the way the story wants to emphasize girlpower even when it seems kinda like it doesn’t exist at all in the plot. The story wants to make you think because of the century they’re living in that a woman’s ability to control doesn’t exist but it gives out hints that it actually does.
Just like Natalie Portman’s mother in this movie where she tells her daughter to learn everything in France including sharpening the skills of making men think that they are in charge.

Eric Bana plays King Henry, a man who’s blinded by the obsession of wanting to have a male heir that he gets easily manipulated by Natalie Portman who desires power as queen.
Natalie’s mother might let her husband her brother in law think they know how to protect the family’s future but in the end she knows best.
Scarlett Johansson’s the nicer sister has a brother played by Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) who can’t stand up for himself, causing him to get into some trouble that ultimately leads to his dead.

All the men in this move are portrayed as weak because their ambitions get the better of them. They make stupid rules and allow others to come up with evil plans just so they can get away with something. I know… I should’ve used the characters’ names instead of the actors’ but we are more familiar with the actors. It makes it easier to know who’s who.

Natalie Portman’s performance is amazing in this movie, she is a wonder to behold, a great talent. We would’ve never thought of that when we watched her first in Leon The Professional.
The only thing bad about this movie is that the scenes go by way too fast. But it’s understandable, because you’re trying to fit in everything in the novel into two hours. But on the downside, it looks too much like TV’s Sopranos which is famous for having each scene comes and goes quickly.

Overall, The Other Boleyn Girl is an excellent movie that deserves better.

* Place the cursor on the picture below to check my grade for this film