Movie Review: Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots ** ½ / *****

Directed by: Josie Rourke.

Written by: Beau Willimon based on the book by John Guy.

Starring: Saoirse Ronan (Mary Stuart), Margot Robbie (Queen Elizabeth I), Jack Lowden (Henry Darnley), Joe Alwyn (Robert Dudley), Guy Rhys (Earl of Kent), Thom Petty (Earl of Shrewsbury), Izuka Hoyle (Mary Seton), John Ramm (Bull), Simon Russell Beale (Robert Beale), Maria Dragus (Mary Fleming), Eileen O'Higgins (Mary Beaton), Liah O'Prey (Mary Livingston), Greg Miller Burns (Thomas Hepburn), Aneurin Pascoe (John Hepburn), Adrian Derrick-Palmer (George Dalgleish), Martin Compston (Lord Bothwell), James McArdle (James, Earl of Moray), Kal Sabir (The Laird of Ramorny), Adam Bond (Sir William Douglas), Luke Kidd (James Haliburton), Claire Brown (Kate), Adrian Lester (Lord Randolph), Guy Pearce (William Cecil), Gemma Chan (Bess of Hardwick), Grace Molony (Dorothy Stafford), Georgia Burnell (Kate Carey), Luke Hobson (Henry Killigrew), Ben Wiggins (John Tamworth), Eldredd Wolf (William Killigrew), Alan Turkington (Thomas Jenye), Ismael Cruz Cordova (David Rizzio), Ian Hart (Lord Maitland), Euan Macnaughton (William Kirkcaldy of Grange), Nathan East (Andrew Ker of Fawdonside), David Tennant (John Knox), Brendan Coyle (Earl of Lennox).

 

Mary Queen of Scots attempts a feminist reimagining of the Scottish Queen, and her brief reign in her home country, and political maneuvering against Queen Elizabeth I. It’s an interesting version of events, as this Mary is headstrong, smart and beautiful and capable of outmaneuvering many of those around her. And yet, the end result is always going to be the same. This new version of her life story is both confusing and kind of dull – no matter how handsomely mounted the production is. It comes across much the same as many British period pieces – with a lot of people sitting around tables talking about power and intrigue, which is interesting up to a point – but that point is nowhere near as long as this film thinks it is.

 

Played by the great Saoirse Ronan, the movie follows Mary from her return from France – a widow at 18 – when she took over the throne, through her next two marriages, which would end with her having to abdicate the thrown. She has a legitimate claim to both the Scottish and English thrones – something her son would do – but because of the scheming of men beneath her, she never really had a chance. That and her religion, which was always going to be a problem – the Brits didn’t want a Catholic queen, and many Scots didn’t either.

 

Ronan portrays Mary as smart and capable – you get the sense that had she not been undermined at every turn by people in her own country, who should have had her back, she may well have won. It isn’t a very nuanced performance by Ronan – one of the great actresses currently working, and capable of delivering the kind of subtle performance that could carry a movie like this. But her Mary is more often than not stating her intentions outright, to any and all around her. It’s a good performance, but it never really gives her a chance to be anything more than that. As for Queen Elizabeth herself, I was less enamored with Margot Robbie’s performance – although I don’t really think that it was her fault. The movie portrays Elizabeth as paranoid in the extreme and far less sure of herself than Mary. Elizabeth is smart enough to not marry – doing so would dilute her power – but in this movie, she doesn’t really do much of anything either. Robbie is a terrific actress, but the role here just isn’t particularly well written.

 

The biggest problem though has to be all the supporting characters – most of whom are men with beards and accents, and it’s impossible to keep them all straight. They’re also all quite dull and uninteresting – and all the intrigue in the palace is rather forgettable.

 

I will say that debut director Josie Rourke knows how to mount a handsome production. The film looks great – with its period design and costume, and painterly like cinematography. It’s just that the story never really goes anywhere all that interesting or unique – and I’m not sure anyone really had a handle on what they think of the two women at its core. This could have been a timely story. Instead, it’s a rather dull one.