Mary Queen Of Scots

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

Director : Josie Rourke

Year : 2019

Genre : Historical drama

Rating : **1/2

Having made quite the name for herself on the West End, the renowned theatre director Josie Rourke now turns her hand to the movie camera for the first time with 'Mary Queen Of Scots', a beautiful looking yet deeply flawed retelling of the life and death of the titular monarch whose defiance, perseverance and eventual martyrdom would go on to change the course of British history forever. Starring the always magnificent Saoirse Ronan as the eternally youthful Mary and Margot Robbie as the pox-ridden Elizabeth I, the film recounts the true story surrounding the emotional and physical battle that raged between the two Queens for the English throne. Beginning with Mary's brutal execution on the scaffold of Fotheringay Castle in 1587, the movie goes back through time to tell the story of how and why she ended up losing not only her Scottish throne but her head - a story of love, death, betrayal, grief and murder.

As is usually the case with most high budget period dramas, 'Mary Queen Of Scots' looks absolutely wonderful, with John Mathieson's gorgeous cinematography, James Merrifield's exquisite production work and Alexandra Byrne's Oscar nominated costume design all providing a lavish feast for the eyes which alone are well worth the price of a cinema ticket. Great also are the two central performances from Robbie and Ronan, both of whom deliver some of the best work of their already astonishing careers. Saoirse Ronan is, as always, her typically brilliant self in the eponymous role of the steadfast Mary but it is Margot Robbie's BAFTA nominated portrayal of the neurotic and paranoid Queen Elizabeth which ultimately ends up stealing the spotlight - a scene in which she envisions herself being pregnant via silhouette is a particularly raw emotional highlight.

However, these elements remain the high points of an otherwise hollow and distinctly conventional biopic which paints every man as a scheming, manipulative misogynist (as exemplified by Jack Lowden's villainous Lord Darnley) and every woman as an irritating giggling schoolgirl who would be more at home in a bad John Hughes rip-off rather than in a serious historical epic. The fault doesn't lie with the cast which includes a wealth of great actors such as Guy Pearce, Ian Hart, Gemma Chan and David Tennant, all of whom do fine work. Instead, it lies with Beau Willimon's emotionally lacklustre and occasionally trite pseudo-Shakespearean screenplay which among its numerous flaws, foolishly paints the infamously grouchy Mary as a free spirited liberal activist in a toe curling effort to appeal to today's socially sensitive youth.  While distorting the facts may have worked in other historical dramas, here it comes across as pandering and, in retrospect, rather silly and it really does the film a great disservice - the most egregious of which is detracting from Soairse Ronan's awards worthy performance.

For all it's problems which also include an overstretched running time and numerous pacing issues, the  movie is not completely without merit and casual cinema-goers should appreciate the performances by Ronan and Robbie as well as the stellar achievements of the cast and crew who all manage to bring the 16th century to life with vivid realism. However, those with even a passing interest in history will no doubt be disappointed and dismayed by the many liberties the filmmakers have decided to take with the well-documented events of this notoriously turbulent period in England's bloody past.