Oscar nominees Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) and Margot Robbie (I, Tonya) lead this battle-for-the-throne historical drama helmed by Josie Rourke (director of the Donmar Warehouse) and penned by Beau Willimon (House of Cards).
Leaving France and defiantly choosing not to remarry, Mary Stuart (Ronan) returns to Scotland to claim her rightful place as Queen—a role taken by the beloved Elizabeth I (Robbie).
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Beginning as Mary Stuart returns home to Scotland following the death of her French King husband to reclaim the throne from her formidable cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots spans the years before her ultimate imprisonment and execution: From her days giggling about sex with her gal pals, to accidentally marrying a rude gay alcoholic, right up until she finally meets Elizabeth in a washhouse full of chic gauzy linen.\
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Resplendent with a cast that refreshingly echoes the cultural make-up of contemporary Britain, meticulously crafted costumes, and the frenzied political piranha-like feeding of royal courts, Mary Queen of Scots is the uglier British cousin to Sofia Coppola’s decadent, candy-coloured, revisionist history Marie Antoinette.
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Rourke's film feels well suited to the #MeToo moment, contrasting Mary and Elizabeth's far different strategies for maintaining what each believed to be her God-given legacy.
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Ronan is the monarch of the lens in this feisty, feminist royal biopic, which favours queenly clashes over battlefield action.
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Rourke's greatest achievement is the performances she's coaxed out of her two lead actresses. They're so good they're like De Niro and Pacino in Heat.
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Rourke and Willimon have crafted a juicy, darkly compelling drama that offers a sleek alternative to what's come before. It's hardly revolutionary or particularly revisionist but there's enough here to make it feel like a worthy endeavour nonetheless.
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Mary Queen of Scots is a sumptuous, bold and engrossing film. If you like your history served rare and well-spiced, you'll love it as much as I did.
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...the performances here - particularly from these stellar leading ladies - really are noteworthy, but is it too much to ask for a little more raw excitement and drama from Mary, Queen of Scots?
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Director Rourke exhibits confidence and enthusiasm in dealing with such juicy material in the company of her two outstanding young actresses.
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A history lesson with more fire in the belly than most. It turns out that a feminist angle really can revive the same old Tudor psychodramas, thanks in large part to Ronan and Robbie's authoritative performance.
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Far from a home run with some major snags including pacing and emotional detachment at the beginning of the movie, but the film still manages to resonate as a story about a woman of great power fighting to lead amongst men.
Full reviewMary Queen of Scots (2018) is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV.
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