The Other Boleyn Girl

This movie about Anne Boleyn is rather different. I haven't read the book the movie is based upon, but this gives us a different look on the Boleyns. I would think that 'the other Boleyn girl' is Mary, for Anne was much more popular (as she became The Queen), but interestingly it is Anne who says the line 'I'm the other Boleyn girl.'


The three Boleyns: Anne, Mary and George love each other and live happily until their father and uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, have an ambition to get rid of Queen Katherine and provide King Henry a male heir. The king is invited to their home so he can see Anne; but he is interested to Mary instead and Anne is sent away to France. Mary successfully gives the king a son, but Anne returns and finally destroys what they have achieved.


Acting, costumes and set are wonderful; but the story can be confusing for those who are not familiar with the Tudor history. There are too many to tell, for example: we don't know what happens to Queen Katherine in the end. In the story, we have a simple, pure Mary, who has grown up in the country. Anne is described as wicked and clever, and she is the brain behind the king's decision to break with the Catholic church and annul his marriage with Katherine. Thomas Crownwell is gone from the plot. Also, when the king begins to want Anne, she has never seen Henry Percy again. In all, the story focuses on the rivalry between the two sisters. We can see how Anne's heart breaks because Mary can give the king a son, while she only gives him a daughter. The king himself is depicted as someone who easily loves a girl, as easy as gets rid of her. In the history, Anne was not punished with George alone, there were several men executed with them, charged with 'high treason' - being the queen's lovers. As for the execution scene, 'Anne of A Thousand Days' is much better, in my opinion.