‘Mary Queen of Scots’ is the second period piece focussed on a British female monarch released this awards season, though it hasn’t received the same level of attention and hype as the outrageous costume dramedy ‘The Favourite’. The less flashy of the two, Josie Rourke’s historical drama documents Mary Stuart’s return from France to her Scottish homeland following her husband’s death, her attempts to gain the English throne from her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, and her eventual execution for allegedly conspiring to have her cousin assassinated. Despite not being marketed as such, to me the film felt like an unofficial sequel to Justin Chadwick’s underrated ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’, another film centred on two women in competition for advancement. Where that film ended with Elizabeth as a small child, ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ picks up with her as the queen showing signs of age and weariness. There are some similarities in both films’ representation of gender dynamics and thirst for power, however, ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ depicts a rivalry between two women who never met unlike the film suggests in a ludicrously dramatized departure from the truth.
The two leading ladies are nothing short of impeccable. Saoirse Ronan proves her versatility in a brilliant show not tell performance as Mary Stuart. What’s very impressive is how she manages to exude both youthful stubbornness and learned poise in every scene. As a fan of Ronan’s work, it’s hard to believe this is the same actress who played rebellious teen Lady Bird last year in another standout performance. Fellow Oscar nominee Margot Robbie is equally superb as Elizabeth I, quite unrecognisable in heavy makeup and prosthetics. Beneath the stiff composure and veneer of powder is a fragile, albeit ruthless, woman who has been conditioned to never compromise in a man’s world. She alludes to this in confiding to her advisor William Cecil that she is ‘both man and woman’. Both Ronan and Robbie are on strong form, but Robbie steals the show in an excellently subdued performance.
The film isn’t without its problems. I’ll admit I’m no history buff with an extensive knowledge of British monarchy history, but it felt as though many of the film’s aspects have been exaggerated for maximum dramatic effect. The feminist tone is amplified in abidance with the current surge of female empowerment films. Summarised by one critic as ‘an essential film for our times’, this reads like a comment on the back of the #MeToo campaign, which took the shine off the films up for contention in last year’s awards season. Zealous Protestant cleric John Knox’s (played uncannily by David Tennant) misogynistic preaching is representative of attitudes of its time, but it’s somewhat overplayed at the expense of a more dynamic screenplay. For all the emphasis on female victimisation, the men are left to be one-note characters who comfortably fit into the bracket of philanderer or ineffectual with nothing to offer.
As a whole the film seems like it’s been written for a juvenile demographic. If it was made in a different decade, we wouldn’t see Mary Stuart getting her period or receiving oral pleasure. The blatant efforts to sexualise the historical drama are the wrong approach to a film about the background of our monarchy. What went on behind closed doors is history and not up for exhibition. ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ is by no means perfection, and it shouldn’t be seen for the purpose of a history lesson, but it’s very well made and the expansive cinematography enhances the sweeping drama. Those who prefer a more factually accurate film will scoff at the scene where Mary and Elizabeth secretly meet and declare their admiration of each other. In short, the performances outdo the film’s weaknesses, I very much enjoyed Margot Robbie’s captivating presence, and it finishes up as an engaging interpretation of two women’s fight over the throne.
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