The Other Boleyn Girl

Adapted from author Philippa Gregory's historical novel of the same name, director Justin Chadwick's atmospheric period drama follows the fierce competition between sisters Mary (Scarlett Johansson) and Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) to win the affections of Tudor king Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Anne ...more

In the sixteenth century, marriage was not an institution dictated by love or even lust. That's what extramarital affairs, mistresses, and lovers were for. Marriage, especially that of the royal court, was a political and social arrangement determined by those in power. That's why, in one of the opening scenes of this beguiling period piece, it's eyebrow-raising when Mary Boleyn (an intentionally dowdy albeit flawlessly porcelain-skinned Scarlett Johansson) claims that she is most excited ...more