Natalie Portman on SNL

May 21st, 2009 | By

I found this clip of Natalie Portman’s ‘angry rap’ on SNL.  LOL….

Share

The Other Boleyn Girl (Book & Film) – Review

March 24th, 2009 | By

Chief: Yet another novel turned film.  I’ve had the novel, The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory, in my possession since 2001 and never picked it up.  I simply had no interest for some reason.  I even saw the film before reading the novel.  However, having watched the film and the Showtime series The Tudors, my interest for the era peaked and I started reading… reading… and couldn’t stop.  Is it me?  Or is it often the books you think are just that boring that are just that good?

The Book
The novel is a Mary Boleyn narrative, the other Boleyn girl.  Yes, history knows well of Anne Boleyn, the lady who rose to become Queen of England, encouraged King Henry VIII to divorce from Queen Katherine of Aragon and subsequently also divorce from the Catholic Church and Papal hiearchy from Rome.  Historically, it is known that Mary Boleyn was King Henry VIII’s first Boleyn mistress, the great prostitute as they called her.  Historians will argue Gregory’s version of certain facts, for example the claim that Mary’s children are King Henry’s.  However, I don’t think this novel should be about the accuracy of the historical content, but rather it should greatly valued for its narrative.  No matter if it is told from a fictional point of view, it should be valued all the same.

Mary’s point of view tells of a woman’s life, traded and married for the men’s positions in the court, like cows in a dowry.  I particularly like the point Mary observes during the divorce of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, that women everywhere were no longer safe because they could now be traded on a whim based on their husbands wanting a newer and/or prettier wife, or toy as they saw it.  Aren’t we still dealing with this? In addition, it’s definitely an interesting account of King Henry VIII’s rise of power, from answering to the Pope in Rome, to being the Supreme Head of the Church of England.  The corruption that existed within the hierarchy of priests then transferred onto him.  Imagine, not only was he ruler of the country, he was now also ruler of the people’s religion.  This granted him absolute power, which ultimately can only lead to corruption, the feeling that nothing can touch him since he is ordained by God.

I assure you this novel is a page turner.  It is a well written narrative of the excitement of the court and the disappointments and dangers of being a woman at the time.

The Film
Although I watched the film first, I prefer the novel.  The written story is much more riveting than the film.  If you like the film, you will LOVE the novel.  The Other Boleyn Girl, now on DVD, stars Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn, and Eric Bana as King Henry VIII.  From my understand, the script merely uses the novel as a base, not as an exact account.  In fact, I found the show the Tudors has more in common with the novel than this film.

As much as I enjoy Eric Bana’s acting (oh remember Troy), I just couldn’t see him as the big a$$hole that I saw in novel.  I found his version too sympathetic.  However, I completely understand.  As the king, he did indeed see Anne Boleyn’s rise to Queen and inability to provide him a male heir as a betrayal.  Poor Anne.  Yes, I say poor Anne.  Although, I quite believe that she got what she deserved, I really couldn’t bare seeing Natalie Portman’s Anne being mistreated, especially after she so beautifully plotted her way to the thrown.  This is just it.  My feelings for Anne and King Henry VIII were reversed as I watched the film.  I find the film portrayed the events as a sum of silent misunderstandings and problematic expectations rather than consequences of people’s decisions and actions.  But a 90-minute film can hardly translate an almost 700-page story, right?  It would have been extremely difficult to fill in every detail that made Anne’s actions so conniving and calculating. The one thing that was definitely translated was the immense pressure for her to have a son.  As in the novel, this pressure is beyond her ambition of being Queen and almost drives her insane, leading her to do almost anything to save herself.

Of course you have to watch the film.  The acting is excellent.  The chemistry between Portman, Johansson and Bana is quite remarkable.  I actually look forward to any of them working together again. Oh and Jim Sturgess (who played George Boleyn), how dare I forget this cutie from Across the Universe!  Again, this conniving and calculating character becomes a sympathetic one. Also different is the Boleyn’s mother (Kristin Scott Thomas).  In the film, she is kind and caring for her daughters.  In the novel, she is conniving and calculating just like the rest.  And this is my problem with the film.  At a time where people fought so hard to gain the King’s favour and schemed for the wealth, I don’t believe for a second that I should be sympathizing with them.  And yet, the film portrays the characters as such.

I would definitely say that I much prefer the novel to the film since I believe it gives a more honest account of the people’s mentality at the time.

Share