The Other Boleyn Girl

Servants, fancy dresses, pearl necklaces . . . sounds romantic, doesn't it? When one thinks of the English court in the 16th century, romance probably comes to mind. For the women of the English court, however, this period in history is all but romantic. Sure, the upperclass women of this time may have about anything that money could buy, except for love and respect. For sisters Anne and Mary, who both desire the king, they'll find that royal life is not all they expected it to be. Love is what they desire, but it's not so easily found behind the castle walls.

Based on true events in history and set in 16th century England, sisters Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) Boleyn are two young women who desire to have happy, yet wealthy marriages. The film begins with Mary marrying a middle-class man, and even though he isn't extremely wealthy, she is happy. Anne, one the other hand, has her goals set much higher. The Boleyn family hears that their country's king, Henry VIII (Eric Bana), is unhappy in his marriage to the queen and is seeking a mistress. The family thinks Anne may be a good match for the king, and asks her if she would be up for the challenge of amusing him. Disgusted to be titled a whore, Anne isn't keen on the idea of being a possible mistress. Her family, however, talks her into the idea and Anne accepts the challenge. The Boleyn family hosts the king and his guards at their home, and presents his majesty to Anne. Although he thinks Anne is fiery and full of energy, he is even more taken with sweet and quiet Mary. The king persuades Mary and her husband to join the royal court, and sneakily, he sends Mary's husband away so he can be alone with her. Mary then becomes the king's mistress. Anne is feeling furious and betrayed, and believes that Mary stole the king away from her. This begins the sibling rivalry between the two sisters. Once Mary becomes pregnant, however, the king loses interest in her. A few months later, when meeting Anne a second time, the king becomes smitten with Anne and wants her to be his mistress. Mary, now very pregnant and on bed rest, feels betrayed. Although Anne is very flirtatious with the king, she is sexually withholding herself from him, not wanting to sleep with him until she becomes his new queen. Even though Mary gives birth to a son, which could finally give England an heir to the throne, the king refuses Mary and stays with Anne. Mary is then banished to the countryside with her child. Anne eventually becomes queen (the second of King Henry VIII's six wives), but she realizes life as a royal is not as glamourous as she thought. Anne realizes the only person she actually loves who loves her in return, is her sister. Will the two Boleyn girls forgive each other and be reconnected?

This film portrays a very glamorous lifestyle of fancy dinners, parties and royal gatherings. Women are dressed elaborately and wear an excess of jewelry, and are surrounded by all the riches in the world. A woman's place, however, is not glamorous. Growing up, a woman is controlled by her father, who then decides who she shall marry. Her marriage is meant to benefit the family and nothing more. Her possible husband could be 20 years older or younger than she, and it wouldn't matter. To marry because of love is actually a very modern idea, because for a long time in history, it didn't matter if a husband and wife loved or even liked each other. Marriage was arranged for potential riches. When a woman would become married, whether her husband was rich or poor, her duties would be to keep a household and have children. She also had to obey her husband at all times, and sleep with him when he demanded so. To a certain degree, it was very hard for a woman to keep her self-respect and pride.

Women who could produce sons were considered the most valuable. It's shown in the movie that the king becomes aggravated with his first wife when she couldn't give him a son, so then he searches for a mistress. When Anne becomes his queen, you can see the nervousness in her face when she herself becomes pregnant. She's terrified that she will miscarry, and she desperately hopes for a son so the king will be pleased. When her first child is a girl (the future Queen Elizabeth, who factually ruled England for over 40 years), she looks somewhat disappointed and the king is displeased, which is very sad to see.

This film is entertaining, but at the same time you feel sad for the Boleyn girls. Mary is interesting to the king at first, but once she gets pregnant she is forgotten about. And Anne is constantly under pressure to give an heir to the throne, and ends up being in an unhappy marriage. As a woman, this film makes me feel grateful that women today have rights and can be independent, and if a woman does wish to marry, she can marry for love and not riches.