Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Reviews

The Other Boleyn Girl

A neutered affair

By PETER HYMAN | February 27, 2008

2.5 Stars

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL: Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are held captive and kept
clothed.

Justin Chadwick’s adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s sprawling bestseller about sibling rivals vying to provide Henry the VIII with a male heir hits all the hallmarks of the epic period piece: scheming nobles; pitch-perfect costuming; plenty of crane shots of aristocrats riding furiously on horseback. But what was in real life a sordid tale of sexual intrigue becomes a neutered affair. The title Boleyn is Mary (Scarlett Johansson), the uncomplicated younger sister to English history’s most infamous adulteress, the conniving Anne (Natalie Portman). And though both lead actresses give admirable performances, they’re held captive (and kept clothed) by Peter Morgan’s flat script. Eric Bana as the Tudor king comes off as hollow (especially in light of Showtime’s current The Tudors); Kristin Scott Thomas provides some bright moments as Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, the strong but ultimately powerless family matron. 114 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Circle/Chestnut Hill + suburbs

Topics: Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, Movies, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

See this film: Ghostbusters @ the Coolidge
Outside The Frame | October 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM

See this film: The Phantom of the Opera @ the Somerville Theatre
October 20, 2012 at 5:00 PM

[cmj2k12] Tomorrow in Brooklyn: the Phoenix/WFNX CMJ show
On The Download | October 20, 2012 at 12:01 PM

Free Fun Shit: Oct 19-25: Free hot dogs, WFNX presents Gentlemen Hall + Casey Desmond, Dance Party Massacre Zombie fashion show, Heads of the Charles, street theater fest + more
Phlog | October 19, 2012 at 5:01 PM

Q&A #8: Mayoral Finalists
Talking Politics | October 19, 2012 at 4:57 PM

ARTICLES BY PETER HYMAN

WHITE LOSERS REJOICE: FLETCH CELEBRATES 25 YEARS | June 03, 2010
This holiday weekend marks the 25th anniversary of Fletch , the uneven but wildly enduring 1985 Chevy Chase comedy about a wisecracking reporter embroiled in a potboiler mystery.

ROLE MODELS | November 07, 2008
The movie, populated by improv/stand-up veterans in supporting roles, is more about its episodic parts than about the cinematic whole they yield.

THE OTHER END OF THE LINE | November 04, 2008
It's your basic boy-meets-girl story, except that the boy meets the girl on a series of phone calls from her Mumbai-based customer-service center.

INTERVIEW: LUDIVINE SAGNIER | August 26, 2008
As sultry French starlets go, 29-year-old Ludivine Sagnier is as advertised.

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL | February 27, 2008
Though both lead actresses give admirable performances, they’re held captive (and kept clothed) by Peter Morgan’s flat script.