Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

Directed by Josie Rourke

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, David Tennant, Gemma Chan, Guy Pearce, Adrian Lester and Martin Compston.

I had been meaning to watch Mary Queen of Scots when it came out in the cinema, but I never got round to it, thankfully it’s now on Sky Cinema - hence the super late review.

So, I love a good period drama, anyone who knows me personally will know this.

Unfortunately, this was not a good period drama…

Mary Queen of Scots told a story that everyone knows and failed to put a new spin on it and make it interesting. The film is just miserable the whole way through. It felt like a huge clash of personalities, with very little chemistry or tension.

Everyone looks the part, everyone is acting the part (to some degree of accuracy). There’s just no story. The only remotely interesting thing that happened was the murder of Mary’s friend David Rizzo and, even then the scene felt very messy.

At the end of the film, you get what is clearly meant to be a very emotional moment between to queens, but by that point I was so bored, I had lost all interest in the film.

I have various issues with this film, some perhaps can not be helped, some could.

This issue probably cannot be helped and contributed to the historical accuracy of the film. The amount of sexsim in the film drove me to the point of insanity. I know realistically, stuff like this happened but it was so frustrating to watch.

However, it does show how horribly isolating and difficult it must be for a woman in power and how many men attempted to manipulate Mary and Elizabeth and how some succeed, especially with Mary.

Also, quick question, why did they age Elizabeth and not Mary? Like, someone please explain that to me because I genuinely cannot think of a reason.

I actually really liked the fact they didn’t have an all white cast. Because Britain during Tudor times wasn’t all white. It’s an excellent step forward in breaking from the racial stereotypes that period drama is swamped in. We can still do better when creating more diverse period films but it’s a step in the right direction.

Another issue I had was with the historical accuracy.

Firstly, Mary and Elizabeth never met, EVER! I get perhaps creating a scene where the two meet created drama and is an attempt to make the story interesting, but there is no evidence to support that they ever met. There only evidential source of communication was their letters to one another.

Secondly, and yes, I am being nitpicky. Despite being Queen of Scots, Mary was shipped off to France at five years old, she grew up in french court and was even Queen Regent of France for nearly 18 months. She’s going to sound french when she speaks. Saoirse Ronan is the queen of accents, I’m certain she could of done a brilliant french accent had she been given the chance.

Honestly, the best part about this film was the hair and costume because everyone looked amazing. It seems to everyone else that the hair and costume was the best thing about this film because that what nearly all of its nominations were in.

To summarise, Mary Queen of Scots tells a well known story but, fails to bring a fresh perspective, which leads to a very boring 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Feel free to leave a comment below your thoughts on the show. You can also contact me via twitter (@niamhcrawley_), instagram (@crawley.filmandtv), facebook or, you can email me at crawley.filmandtv2000@gmail.com.