The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

I waited for this to come out on the cheap because of the awful reviews, but was still tempted to watch it as a huge fan of historical drama. I admit there are glaring holes, a lack of depth of plot and character but I certainly don't agree with the 1 star reviews on here. OK, it's basically the first 2 seasons of the Tudors compressed into a 2 hour movie, so there are going to be huge gaps in the story, but how many historical dramas of recent times have been any different? There is also the fact Eric Bana is clearly not English, a bit of a problem when playing the most famous English king in history, although Portman's accent didn't waiver for me. Some of the characters are very 2 dimensional, most noticeably if they weren't the 3 main stars, but at the cheaper price, found it an easy Sunday afternoon watch. Worth 3 stars I think......

I'm a fan of the Tudor period and read a great number of factual books about the time so was disappointed with the novel upon which this movie is based. Gregory, the author takes great liberties with historical accuracy and the film does even more so. The costumes are so so, and the acting at times leaves much to be desired. There are events in the film not explained...such as the death of Mary Boleyn's first husband...he just disappears and next minute Mary is with someone else. Anne Boleyn was not a quivering wreck on the scaffold and Mary Boleyn was not present at the execution nor did she raise Elizabeth I as the film implies. I understand it is a costume drama so some liberties have to be taken but when people then believe all they see happened in that way it is unfair to the memory of the character's historical counterparts and to the history of England.

If your a teenager who doesn't care about historical fact then you'll probably really enjoy this. The script was a little too plain English for me as there were various lines that sounded like they had been lifted directly from a teenage magazine. Natalie Portman seemed to be channeling 'Valley Girl' while her co-star Johansen just looked bored and a bit thick (as usual).
Eric Bana is a handsome guy but he just didn't cut it playing a historical character that we all know was ginger and obese with a gouty foot!
Nice fluffy film with the best acting at the end but it's missing huge chunks of the historical truth and turns English history into a soap opera.
Watchable, but not what it could have been. If the scriptwriters had actually checked historical fact rather than relying on a novel then the storyline would have been a lot more interesting. A shame.

I couldn't help but be annoyed at the continual historical inaccuracies that appeared in this film. Anyone interested in knowing the truth about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's relationship should watch David Starkey's 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'. The end titles of the film also gave the impression that Henry's sole heir was Elizabeth I; with no mention of his son Edward from his marriage to Jane Seymour after Anne's execution, or even his first daughter Mary Tudor, who was barely mentioned.
On the plus side, however, I thought the two leading actresses managed to portray the vastly differing characters and the love/hate relationship of Anne and Mary very successfully and their Mother played by Kristin Scott-Thomas, who had no choice other than to stand aside and watch her family be destroyed by ambition was excellent. If all you want is an enjoyable story to keep you entertained for a few hours then this is the film for you.

And loved it then please don't watch the film. I bought it anyway after loving the book and thought i could be open minded enough to take the film under it's own merit. I am sorry to say i couldn't, the film simply doesn't capture the passion and sheer debauchery of the time and it's a real shame. Also what's with the casting of eric banner as king henry the most famous redhead of our nation :-)))