Saturday, October 31, 2009

The Other Boleyn Girl



Yesterday I watched a movie entitled "The Other Boleyn Girl" for second time. Previously I watched it in the cinema. It is a very interesting movie. Sumpah!! It's adaptation of a novel by the same name by British author Philippa Gregory.

It is a romanticized account of the life of the 16th century English court, Lady Mary Boleyn, who was the sister of Queen Anne Boleyn and one time mistress of King Henry VIII of England. I am not sure whether it is a true story or not. Some said it is historical fiction then they make it into a movie. The argument is still undertaking among the Historians.

Even that, it is still a very interesting movie. Try lah! It tells us about the Boleyn family and also the England's Royal Family. According to this movie, Queen Elizabeth II was a children of King Henry and Queen Anne. Anne was not a true Queen of England. She became a queen after Henry's wife (The True Queen of England) failed to give Henry a son.

These are some facts about the movie:

* Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Although Mary is referred to in the film as the younger sister, most historians today are convinced that she was the eldest girl. Her date of birth is circa 1499, while Anne is believed to have been born in the early 1500s (historians continually debate between 1501 and 1507). The book that the film is based on was written with Mary as the younger sister, so the film itself makes no mistake in this arrangement.

* Factual errors: Mary Boleyn's wedding scene takes place in late spring or early summer. She married William Carey in early February 1520, so the weather should be much bleaker, with snow.

* Factual errors: In the film, Mary Boleyn's first child is a boy. In reality, her first child was a girl, Catherine. Henry was born several years later.

* Anachronisms: When Anne makes her speech on the execution block, a painted metal drainpipe, with metal bands fixing it to the wall, is clearly visible behind her.

* Crew or equipment visible: When Henry is about to sleep with Mary the first time, his mic and wire dangle down as he takes off his shirt.

* Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Details of some historical characters and events have been changed to fit the dramatic narrative.

* Miscellaneous: Written at the very end of the credits is the message: "This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and locations portrayed and the names herein are fictitious, and any similarity to or identification with the location, name, character or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional." However the novel and film are based on the true stories of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII with real people, historical events and locations that are also factual.

* Plot holes: SPOILER: In the end, Mary lives happily ever after with William Stafford. No one explains what happened to William Carey, who she married at the beginning of the film, but he actually died of the sweating sickness. The DVD version includes Carey's illness and death in the deleted scenes.

Let's compare the actors of The Other Boleyn Girl and their historical counterparts:


p/s: for UK lovers, don't forget to watch this movie!!

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