Mary Queen of Scots
Oh man, on paper this seemed like a prospect. Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie in a film together? Especially after award nominated films that they were in last year. Based on sheer star power alone this was something that I had to see. Also, add in the history attached of Queen Elizabeth and her Cousin Mary and their rather tumultuous relationship marred in jealousy and a craving of power. The film looks nice and the costumes are beautiful but the script lets down these two leading ladies.
The film takes place during the reign of Mary in Scotland and her cousin Elizabeth in England and Ireland. Both have to deal with the difficulties of ruling their kingdoms, family, power, producing an heir and being at odds with each other despite being family. Things come to a head when both confront each other, which decides the fate of Mary, Queen of Scots. The film is directed by Josie Rourke, who has a history in theater production but decided to come to the silver screen with this film.
The costume design and locations on display in the film look magnificent. Both leading performances by Ronan and Robbie are also fantastic. its always the case with Ronan because she’s bee formidable from a young age but Robbie continues to perform extremely well after I, Tonya and shows off some versatility in Mary Queen of Scots. Unfortunately, the film does not hold its weight outside of those features as the script is too dull to excite. There are moments that grasp you only to let you go soon after.
I think the writing lets down a film that had the potential to be a real Oscar contender otherwise. Its a historically interesting story for sure, it just needed better direction to get to a finished product that gives the viewers what they seek. Its decently enjoyable overall but I wanted to really be blown away by this because there seemed to be so much going for it. P.S. I got major Pennywise the Clown vibes from Robbie’s Elizabeth near the end haha.
6.5/10
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