Sonoma State Star

Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Arts and Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman find themselves in a tangled love triangle in "The Other Boleyn Girl." [Click to enlarge]

"The Other Boleyn Girl" faithfully depicts spirit of the novel, even if it leaves some plot points out. [Click to enlarge]

At the root of all families lies the primal and archaic struggle of sibling rivalry.
And what starts out as playful competition leads to a royal feudal battle in "The Other Boleyn Girl," a motion picture based on the historical fiction novel written by Philippa Gregory.
The film proves to be as racy and heart wrenching as the book, full of dicey plot twists and tense family dynamics.
The film follows sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn, played by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson respectively, as they grow up together on their manor in England.
Of the two sisters, Anne is known as the outspoken, witty daughter that Mary looks up to. Conversely, Mary is the "golden child," acting impeccably quiet and keeping to herself in a more traditional fashion. With her long blonde hair and her good looks, Mary attracts the attention of almost all that come her way.
From the get-go, it seems that this film sets up the sisters to oppose each other in the most striking ways.
Eric Bana takes on the demanding King Henry VIII, a frustrated ruler that's been left without an heir to his throne after his Queen, played by Ana Torrent, suffers from a miscarriage.
It's here that he grows impatient and attempts to find himself a mistress that will give him the heir he so desperately desires.
Word gets out across the kingdom, and the Boleyn family hears of this, sending Anne to become the mistress to raise the family's stature.
Yet, when Anne cannot handle this task, her sister is sent in against her will. This is seen as a shameless betrayal to her sister and Anne decides to do her best to win the heart of the King.
The big draw of the film was the exchange between Portman and Johansson's characters. Their performances subtly built off of one another, and when the time came to take off the gloves, the two of them simply had no mercy for each other. It was an excellent set of performances, illustrating that they are two actors at the peaks of their talent.
As for the leading male characters, there was Eric Bana, who played King Henry VIII. His performance in the film was one of the best I've seen in a while, creating just enough tension around himself so that the Boleyn sisters stayed at odds with each other.
And in keeping with the aesthetic of the period, the lavish costumes were another engaging aspect of "The Other Boleyn Girl."
The film's costumes were designed by Sandy Powell, most famous for her work on costumes in the 1998 film, "Shakespeare In Love."
From the elaborate nightgowns, to the regal and ornate nature of the king's apparel, everything matched the era perfectly.
The elaborate feudal wardrobe of this film obviously took a lot of skill to create, and the audience will no doubt appreciate the attention to detail that Powel brings to the film.
However the film doesn't perfectly mirror it's source material, and this causes for a rather uneven experience at times.
In the novel, the Boleyn sisters were a little more discrete about their escapades with the King. While the novel placed a big emphasis on the society's views regarding adultery, the film failed to convey the seriousness with which they looked upon the issue.
In this time period, adultery was punishable by death, yet the film failed to stress the severity of the whole thing. And like most novels adapted to films, minor details and plot points were left out that could have fleshed out the characters' motives a bit more.
Despite these shortcomings this is a well-made film that deserves an audience.
And while Boxofficemojo.com listed this picture as bringing in around $2 million, this doesn't mean the film should be considered a failure.
There is a point in every good movie when the viewer forgets they are watching a film, where your interest is so captivated that you become totally immersed in the experience.
"The Other Boleyn Girl" will have that effect on you.
It might not seem like it, but it made a believer out of me.
The Panda Express I snuck into the movie theater remained untouched, as I found myself completely enthralled by this film.
"The Other Boleyn Girl" is a gripping and dynamic film, one that will have you forget about the big names attached to the project and focus on the suspenseful interplay between these two sisters.

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