The story of Mary Stuart, who left France for her native Scotland in 1561 to take her place on the throne and simultaneously threaten the throne of Elizabeth I, is filled with deceit, lust, religion, power plays and double-crosses. Everything you want in a royal treatment — almost.
Compared to gushy Elizabeth (1998), the film proves too small. Compared to the The Favourite, the recent, inventive, rollicking take on Queen Anne, it seems quite old fashioned. So, it's a film that is neither grand nor bad, simply a solid period piece with few surprises, including the obvious last scene.
What does earn your ten bucks is Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as Mary and Elizabeth. They are each sensational in their roles of 16th Century frenemies. It's a blast to see history through their performances.
In a December when a dozen of the year’s best films are on screen, and despite the luscious, cinematic shots of Scotland, this film is not as big as the story — something just seems missing. For this, I’d look to first-time film director Josie Roarke who comes from the national theatre/playhouse world. A pretty strong debut, but it's just not the movie of the year I'd hoped for.
In a nutshell: It may not be one of the year’s ten best, but it's worth ten bucks.
Award potential: Potential Academy Award nominations for Best Actress Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Actress Margo Robbie and Best Costume for designer Alexandra Byrne (Elizabeth: Golden Age).
The historically inaccurate meeting of the two Queens ( Eyes will roll where heads should have) should keep it out of the Best Screenplay category as well as Best Picture. Leave that stuff for on stage theatre, folks.
The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.
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