Frustrating because there are some superb things - well one, really, the performance of Saoirse Ronan as Mary Queen of Scots. The whole conception and depiction of this character is perhaps the best ever of Mary in a film - she's proud, smart, charismatic, a bit dodgy, cunning but not cunning enough, with bad judgement.
Margot Robbie's Elizabeth is strong too - insecure, uncertain, but with a big picture view (and better advisers) than Mary. The scene between the two at the end is brilliant - that's what the whole film should have been, about their relationship.
But it's not. It's patchy and uncertain. Scenes seem to randomly start and end. There's little dramatic build. We have the greatest hits but it never seems real never comes alive.
The support actors are shockingly poorly drawn. Guy Pearce's sidekick just spouts lines in a bad beard. Mary's brother glowers in a beard. Darnley has something to do (bisexual and useless). Rizzio's gay, which is fine, but that's it for him - no depth, no shade. Robert just pines over Elizabeth. Bothwell just glowers. John Knox just shrieks. Mary's handmaidens - who could easily have characters - just giggle. Elizabeth's handmaiden doesn't even do that.
The theatre background of the director is evident in scenes like the assassination of Rizzio - it feels stagy - and the random diversity casting of some support players. I don't really mind they put in a black actor and an Asian actor - this period was more racially diverse in reality than many people realise - but these actors don't have a character to play. That black noble just sort of spouts exposition Elizabeth's Asian lady in waiting infuriated me - I've got problem her being Asian, but she had no character. She just say there and listened.
I get the feeling this really should have been a six part series. The time jumps wouldn't have been disconcerting - you could build to definite climaxes like the death of Rizzio, Darnley, etc.
As it is the film doesn't have courage to focus on what it's theme should be - Elizabeth and Mary as sisters, women in a man's world. The story needed to totally focus on that. It kind of does but this theme is dissipated.
No comments:
Post a Comment