arleenm1740-55-499373
I am still watching the show, but am disappointed in the women who play the Bolyn sisters. I can't believe King Henry would fall in love with women who are, well sorry, but a bit homely. It's a bit slow moving and as I have watched many a show on this subject, can't help but feel it could have been done much better. Do not mind the hand held camera, and low budget, I believe that is always a good idea!
catflap
An extraordinary tale of sex, passion and royal intrigue, this is the little-known story of Mary Boleyn, who was mistress to King Henry VIII before he married her sister, Anne. Set during one of the most notorious periods in British regal history, at its heart is the relationship between two rivals - the Boleyn sisters. Starring Jodhi May, Natascha McElhone, Jared Harris and Steven Mackintosh.If you want superb acting quality together with historical accuracy, this is the one to see.If you prefer an over-rated, second-class, Americanized remake then go for the Hollywood fluff version. This one will be over your head.
pulp150
I have mixed feelings about this film. I appreciated the use of color, it represents the harshness of the time. It's a nice change to see a period piece that's not glamorous. I can imagine it's tempting to make the good looking cast even better looking. The confessions in the camera I didn't understand. I do understand it was anattempt to make it more intimate. But I don't think it workout that well here. I consider it to modern. It works in comedy like 'the private life of Samuel Pepys'. There it was brilliant. Maybe they could've used a confession setting for these scene's instead of putting them into a room speaking to the camera. And usedmore close-ups instead of medium shots. That would make it more intimate anddramatic. The acting is superb! I enjoyed to see Jodhi May paying a wicked woman for achange. She portrayed Anne Boleyn very good Her sick and cruel pleasure totorture her family by for example trying to marry of her sister to a fat ugly man. Her frightening ambition and abuse of power is portrayed brilliantly. The actor who played Henry and the actress who played Mary were alsobrilliant. The rest of the cast were very complementary to the leading ladies and man.Very good. This is not a story about one person. It's about relations between people. This movie explains why Mary survived.This is really a film worth wile seeing. But don't expect to see a conventional historical epic. Voted 8A-M ---- English is not my first language so please excuse my spelling and grammarerrors
movielamour
If this sets the new direction for period dramas, then I'm all for it! Gone are the stuffy mannerisms and cookie-cutter direction. In comes a new era of BBC costume drama, even with the oh, so familiar face of Jodhi May. MY how we've never seen her in just this way before! Heaving bosoms and lustful swaggers and I was HOOKED in the first fifteen minutes! I SO HOPE it is released to DVD!!! The story of Anne Boleyn is known far and wide, but I don't think it's ever been told from the perspective of what it must have been like to be a young woman in those ruthless times. And Anne was ruthless, there's no doubt about it. However, the beauty of this production is that it sheds light on *why* she maneuvered herself the way she did. The mother of England's greatest queen, Elizabeth I, had to have a lot of chutzpah to not only gain the king's favor, but keep it - and his sexual desires - at bay for years before bagging him and the crown as her own. This adaptation really makes one wonder what the country would have been like had she only managed to bear a male heir, and hence, keep her head.BRAVO BBC!
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