Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary Stuart defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. However, Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I. Each young Queen beholds her sister in fear and fascination. Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence.
At first glance, Mary Queen of Scots may appear to be a film only for people with an interest in Tudor history, however what is really interesting about this film was how it showed the story of the two Queens, as well as teaching and informing us about what really went on through key narrative scenes with writing to set the scene and close off the film. This is definitely a standalone film which tells a story that hasn't really had a lot of focus in the film industry, but whether that means that the film ends up with a death sentence or whether it deserves to stay in the history books is what you are here to find out about! Here are my thoughts on the film.
One of the best things about this film was introduced at the beginning, by establishing not only the characters but also the time and the story through a series of a few sentences it allowed me and the audience to have a good idea of the origins of both of the main characters, as well as the current world affairs which would come into play around that time too. I really liked how the film told an in-depth story about the lives of the two queens, whilst still maintaining a simplistic yet valid historical reference. Right from the beginning, the film really established the theme of the film really nicely, and by introducing the story well it gave the film a really entertaining and interesting start which definitely put the film on the right tracks. The film also established its characters well too, it was made clear who the main characters in the film were by seeing side by side comparisons and regular switches between the two Queens throughout to establish how their lives were different. By doing this, it made the film really immersive because the way the characters were used and developed throughout the film made it really interesting and exciting to see how different events and characters manipulated the storyline. This ensured that the start of the film did a very good job at introducing not only the time period well but also the characters and the plot through the use of realistic and old fashioned dialogue, to the switches from English to French to remind us of Queen Mary's French connections. I also really enjoyed seeing the various opinions and thoughts of the characters too, by seeing arguments and debates between characters whilst talking about what to do next, not only did it make the other country seem distant and mysterious, but it also just made the scenes realistic and immersive as we saw a really exciting set of clashes and personalities. This linked really well to the changes in character relationships and personalities throughout the storyline, I really enjoyed seeing the changing perceptions and seeing the countries going from peace to on the brink of war and how every character seemed to be holding back at the same time. The different emotions portrayed by these characters were key and really effective at leaving the audience in awe at many of the key scenes within the film, but these were helped by the great acting that went on throughout this film. They were fantastic, not only did the actors help to make the film and story interesting but they also made it believable through dialogue, body movements and the variety of emotions that were sent to the audience.
The plot of this film was also well laid out, like I said, the captions really helped to establish the film but what kept it going was the strong and established plot. Things also happened quickly aswell which keeps the film interesting and engaging with the audience, and as there are many scenes in the film that were really exciting, it made the film really enjoyable and thilling right from the start to the end. The storyline is also fun because it adapts and changes which left the audience really in awe throughout the film which not only says that the film it engaging and exciting but also that it is interesting as well, again because of the great plot and character combination. The way that the film portrayed different emotions was also really positive, throughout many key scenes you could've heard a pin drop it was so quiet because everyone was so immersed in what was happening, but also sad scenes and shocking scenes also helped to give us more than excitement from this film, sadness and surprise too. But the emotions were established well, for example it wasn't mentioned but self consciously we could see the disorganised nature of the various armies during the civil war, we could see the ways in which characters interacted with the Queen as she became less and less popular which was done really cleverly and had a big impact on the connection between the audience and the film. But the plot helped this too, as the storyline was established well it also allowed the audience to follow what was happening fairly easily for the majority of the film and as I said about subconscious emotions, they were done really subtly and cleverly to add to the impact that the plot had on the film which I thought was really good. These important and key scenes throughout the film also helped to ensure that our focus was directly on the film and what was going on, which again really helped to add to the overall experience that the film had and the impact on us as an audience. And then I really like when a film shows the ending scene at the start of the film to allow us to work out how it will finish, and then tell us the story of how those events came into action and this is how this film was structured which I really liked. Seeing Queen Mary with her head on the block at the start and end of the film gave it a feeling of finishing in a loop and tidily which was well received. This was definitely a strong film which represented the historic value of the origin really well, whilst making it entertaining and en-thrilling for all types of audiences.
Not everything in this film was perfect though, the main issue that I had was that it felt like key scenes that held great importance were missed out. For example, at the end we see Queen Mary with a death sentence but a few minutes before, the two Queens are friendly and chatting together. The cause of the death sentence is explained but it felt as if far too little emphasis was put on key scenes like this which left me a little confused as to why some events in the film happened due to the lack of explanation. Some of the character relationships were also quite confusing, I found myself unsure as to why some characters had fallen out or as to why some of them were changing their minds as to their loyalty to their Queen. I guess this probably links to my first point as to the lack of explanation that focussed on why some things happened, obviously everyone is different and some people may have easily grasped it, but I didn't quite catch why some of these things happened.
I also felt as if some historical knowledge was required to completely understand and appreciate this film too, as there were a few characters who had key roles that weren't explained or introduced very clearly and we didn't see nearly as much of them as I felt we should have. I also mentioned that events occurred quickly, sometimes they were too quick, so for example the explosion at the castle and then the attempt on Lord Darnley's life were very quick and didn't really give the audience enough time to understand and interpret what had actually happened. However the main issue that seems to annoy people about this film is that it lacks the valid points of a true historic movie. Elizabeth and Mary ever actually ever met in their life time, they never laid eyes on each other... they only corresponded through many letters to each other. And even though this didn't bother me, it does affect the overall integrity of the film which is a little bit of a let down.
Overall though, I would give this film an 8.5. I really feel that it did an amazing job at creating an exciting and interesting film that really seemed to grab the attention from the audience and not let go, even after leaving the cinema. Not only were the characters a credit to the film but the actors were too, they did a great job at creating an immersive ecosystem to create a really in depth and en-thrilling historic film. Of course there were a few issues, I felt that more in depth information and explanations could have been given to really establish the plot and help with the audiences understanding and I was also a little unsure as to why the changes in relationship and plot were so quick which may have left some of the audience trailing for the duration of the film. But overall I would recommend the film, if you're not too fussed about the validity of the story then this film is a really really good film that promises to deliver many thrills and interesting scenes to create an overall great film!
Thank you for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing this review! I hope you have a lovely day! :)
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