Mary Queen of Scots Review

R: For some violence and sexuality

Focus Features, Working Title Films

Dir: Josie Rourke | Writer” Beau Willimon

2 Hrs and 5 Minutes

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, Gemma Chan, Martin Compston, Ismael Cordova, Brendan Coyle, Ian Hart, Adrian Lester, James McArdle, David Tennant, Guy Pearce

Release Date: December 7th (Limited)

Mary Queen of Scots explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart. Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But 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. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth's sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones - and change the course of history.

One might assume that this is a Ronan vs. Robbie movie, but in actuality it’s more of a Ronan (feat. Margot Robbie) movie which is okay. The film may be marketed as a dramatic war movie, but it is called “Mary Queen of Scots” and it delivers on that title. The film is mostly Mary just trying her damned best to keep her country together and proving through each trial and tribulation she faces that she has the right to rule both Scotland and England… if, and only if, her cousin doesn’t bear a child. It is truly empowering and Ronan gives yet another extraordinary performance capturing that strength and multi-layered personality.

“The Favourite” was just recently released and that film had me going:

over Olivia Colman’s performance and I’ll be damned that I’m using that same acclaim towards Saoirse Ronan in her portrayal as Mary. Oddly enough--there’s an gif of that and it’s not wrong.

In “Mary Queen of Scots” Saoirse Ronan is an actual Queen and she commands the screen like one. For an actress of Irish descent she impressively attunes a great Scottish accent. We’ve heard her do a wide array of international accents and she successfully pulls off a Scottish one. Ronan has immensely evolved to become this powerful jack-of-all-trades actress and Mary is another entry in her streak of incredible performances. There are sequences where she delivers savage lines towards the many enemies who cross her and you’ll often find yourself snapping in respect to her quippy sass.

One of the best aspects of her casting is her youth. Mary is this young Queen who is thrown into power so early on that she doesn’t get to be youthful. Fortunately, she’s better equipped for the job than anyone would’ve expected. When Mary needs to act like a queen, she is commanding, but when she’s having fun, she’s charming.

With this being the directorial debut of Josie Rourke, who has directed a lot of theater productions throughout her career, she powerfully emerges through the door as she directs her cast at their full caliber. I love the framework and cinematography of the film. Since this was shot on location, you get to bask in the magnificent glory of Scotland and take in all of the beauty it has to offer. That said, it often lends to beautiful shots that are exquisite.

The film has an irresistible “Game of Thrones” vibe. Whereas there aren’t any fantastical elements that include dragons, the feature provides an engaging great deal of drama. For the conversations revolving around control and this rivalry of the two queens over power, the many obstacles Mary must face as this young Queen is the major heft of the narrative. A lot of high stakes revolve around Mary and the requirements held upon her by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Because of her meddling across seas, her own lords start to hate her, her council begins to disband their allegiance to her, and her own flesh and blood start to betray her. Why? Because just like “Mulan” she’s:

Returning to the “Game of Thrones” comparison, all of the men featured here are pretty much similar to Petyr Baelish (aka Littlefinger), for everyone around her is just always plotting her downfall because she is a woman and she is powerful.

You may or may not leave the theater uttering “fuck men” under your breath. While Elizabeth is a major contributing factor to the many hardships Mary faces, it's mostly the men in her own country who do the heavy lifting in giving her hell, even down to her slimy husband. The film is subtle in its way of displaying of how men is the cause to the obstacles Mary must overcome without bashing you over the head with it. When Ronan and Robbie finally share the screen you’re gifted with an incredible array of emotions and it is one of the most emotional and gratifying scenes I’ve seen this year. They have a heart-to-heart about the difficulties of living in a man’s world, which takes us back to:

The makeup is great. At some point in the film, Elizabeth I of England is diagnosed with smallpox which is one of the many conflicts that throws her into a spiral. The makeup lets you see how terrifyingly effective smallpox is. I didn’t think there would be a day that we’d see the gorgeous Margot Robbie look scary, but thanks to the magic of hair and makeup it's here.

Taking creative liberties on films based on true stories let alone historical dramas is a dangerous game to play. As I said, the film makes you say “fuck men” all the way through for what happens to Mary, but when you look up the facts you realize that a lot of things presented in the film are downright wrong, even down to her death.

Come on.

We’ve already been through enough with “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the excessive number of times that it got basic facts about Freddie Mercury's life wrong. There’s no need to do the same for this historical biopic! You still have a powerful story that’s present. That scene where the two meet, while powerful and admittedly worth the price of admission, sadly never happened in history. It kind of defeats most of the engagement you have towards the film.

Just saying, if your marketing promises that you’re going to deliver a Ronan vs. Robbie movie, then by God deliver it in the end project. While I am content with what this film is and how amazingly entertaining it is, I can’t help to feel a bit… cheated. Not only because of the amount of lies the story sells for entertainment’s sake, but for how the marketing was handled as well.

You have two Queens who are sworn enemies who want to obtain POWER and it doesn’t focus on that so much. Elizabeth is the antagonistic force and Robbie delivers an amazing performance, but she’s not present enough. They would focus on Mary for so long that when they cut to Elizabeth back in England, you forget that she’s a part of the story as well.

Another annoying aspect are subplots that go nowhere and didn’t need to be inserted and the abundant amount of misleading reaction shots. There are so many reaction shots of people scowling, misleading you to ponder if a character is up to something when in actuality, they’re not. One primary example is Gemma Chan. Whenever the camera cuts to Chan hearing an ounce of tea going on in Elizabeth’s chamber, you assume she’s part of the plotting and yet she does nothing.  WHEN YOU HAVE GEMMA CHAN IN YOUR MOVIE, USE HER TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! I may be shouting this because of how incredible her performance was in “Crazy Rich Asians”, only to be part of this period piece where she barely has any lines of dialogue. She’s essentially just there to serve looks.

Despite its historical inaccuracies, “Mary Queen of Scots” prospers from an impeccable performance by Margot Robbie and another extraordinary performance from Saoirse Ronan making this wickedly entertaining period drama an impressive debut by director Josie Rourke.

Rating: 4/5 | 81%

Super Scene: Mary and Elizabeth’s private meeting.