Usually movies that involve history from centuries ago do not catch the eye of teenagers now a day. Films about dance wars and hip hop or films about love stories with angst interest the younger generations, forking up their allowance to see them. A new breathe of life has been issued in the historical movie world by two immensely talented young women who have already mastered the teen scene- Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.
The two twenty something actress started in movies, appealing to younger generations earlier, and captured a young audience early on in their career. Now they are moving on to more dramatic and serious films, impressing not only their younger fans, but critics and adults alike. According to http://www.imdb.com , Natalie Portman, who has stared in the Star Wars prequels, Anywhere but here and Garden State has been impressing audiences since the age of twelve. Scarlett Johansson, who has stared in films such as Perfect Score, The Sponge Bob Square Pants Movie, In Good Company and the critically acclaimed film Lost in Transition. Both actresses have recently begun to segment to more adult films in recent years, most recently in the film “The Other Boleyn Girl”.
The film pairs the actress as sisters, Portman as the infamous Anne Boleyn and Johansson as the almost obscure sister, Mary Boleyn. It focuses on the lives of both sisters, and how they became wrapped up becoming King Henry VIII of England’s mistresses, which tore their family apart. In beginning of the movie, Anne and Mary are extremely close, and remain so till they are both battling for the affection of the King. Throughout the movie, the King is betraying one of the sisters, but eventually chooses Anne over Mary, even after she bares him a son. Anne manages to manipulate the King, which results him divorcing the Queen, leaving the Church of England and beginning his own church-which changes the face of England forever. After they are married, Anne cannot produce a son for the King, which causes huge strain on their marriage. In order to keep him happy, she sleeps with her brother, George (played by Jim Sturgess). They are spotted and both charged with incest. George and Anne are both beheaded, despite the pleas of Mary, who has been long gone from the castle.
The chemistry between Portman and Johansson is what makes the film as captivating as it is. Their closeness seems to come with little effort, and the pain in their faces when they each realize they were betrayed by the other ones literally makes you uncomfortable watching, as if they were actual sisters. Watching them talk about Mary’s wedding night was as if the audience was watching two sisters speaking. The most moving part of the film is when Mary visits Anne right before she is about to be beheaded. She assures her that the King is going to spare her, and that it will all be alright. As they lead Anne out, Mary receives a note saying the King will not be able to spare Anne. Her face changes into grief and distress, and Anne realizes she is about to die. She takes off her head dress and leads down to death, all while keeping her eyes glued on Mary. When they lowered the guillotine, everyone in the theater was silent, even though the ending was already known; still there was a part of everyone that Anne would be spared and live happily with Mary away from the kingdom.
This film is a great choice for anyone who actually wants to see a quality film and get their ten dollars worth during their next movie theater outing.
