Director
Josie Rourke
Starring
Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie and Jack Lowden
There’s no doubting that the producers of Mary Queen of Scots had it pegged as an awards contender prior to its release, especially given its release date. A period drama with two notably talented female leads, it should have had Oscars written all over it…so why has it been snubbed this awards season?
Given the subject matter and strong female contingent, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to The Favourite which was released 3 weeks earlier. One has been nominated for a slew of awards, the other is being released with very little fanfare. But are the two films really worlds apart in terms of quality? Not really, and in many ways, if you could combine the strengths of both films, you’d have the perfect masterpiece.
Telling the story of Mary Queen of Scots from 1561 until 1568, the film focuses on the political divisions between Catholics and Protestants in Scotland at the time and the paranoia emanating from Queen Elizabeth I and her cohorts, believing that Mary was planning to take over the British Crown. But ultimately this is a film about ambition, betrayal and an overt sexist discrimination that exists even for the most powerful women.
There are certain ‘historical liberties’ taken with the storytelling, but for the most part it’s fairly accurate, or at least consistent with other telling’s of Mary’s story, with the exception of a fictitious meeting between Mary and Elizabeth (however that is ‘explained’ in the movie). There are also obvious changes made to characters in the efforts of diverse casting, which are both positive from a Hollywood perspective, but somewhat distracting from a historical standpoint.
Both Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie were extremely solid as Mary and Elizabeth respectively, however I can’t help but feel that their performances could have been taken to another level by more inspired writing. That’s the most noticeable difference of strengths between Mary Queen of Scots and The Favourite. The latter had a dynamic and invigorating dialogue, and whilst probably not perfect for the more serious tone of Mary Queen of Scots, this story could have benefited from a punchier approach. Some scenes felt far too heavy and drawn out, which at times made the respectable 124 minute running time feel much longer. That being said, the cinematography here far surpassed that of The Favourite. Both films have an incredibly talented cast of leading ladies; however only one of them had the script that allowed these talents to be showcased in the best possible way. From an overall perspective though, both films are incredibly enjoyable to watch, despite being imperfect.
In this case, Mary Queen of Scots should appeal to those who love their period dramas or historical films. It’s certainly not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s very much worth a viewing. One thing is for certain though, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie have a lot of great things ahead of them, and whilst they haven’t been included in this year’s award nominations, they’re bound to get countless more opportunities in the years to come.
4 stars
Trailer
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Moviedoc thanks Universal for the chance to review this film.
Moviedoc 
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