Mary Queen Of Scots (2018)

After her husband's death, the Catholic Mary (Saoirse Ronan) returns to her homeland of Scotland which is predominantly Protestant. Her ascent to the Scottish throne presents a danger to Elizabeth I's (Margot Robbie) reign as the Queen of England. Based on the biography QUEEN OF SCOTS: THE TRUE LIFE OF MARY STUART by John Guy and directed by Josie Rourke in her film directorial debut. The story of these two Queens is fascinating and has been a frequent source of films, plays, TV dramas, opera etc. In 1936, John Ford directed Katharine Hepburn and Florence Eldridge as Mary and Elizabeth and in 1971, Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson played Mary and Elizabeth on film. Alas, this version is bloated and dull and I had a hard time staying awake. The film perpetuates several historical inaccuracies and speculations including have the two Queens meet when there is no evidence whatsoever that they ever did. When Redgrave and Jackson met in MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, the scene crackled. When Ronan and Robbie meet the scene fizzles. It's a revisionist film with Mary and Elizabeth played as strong feminist icons while the 16th century Scottish and English courts are populated with black and Asian actors. Whether this is progress or PC tokenism, I leave to you. Is there any reason to see this torpid drama? Yes, two reasons: Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie. Both actresses giving fierce performances that deserve a better movie. With Guy Pearce, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, Ismael Cruz Cordova and Gemma Chan.