National Post (National Edition)
Mary Queen of Scots
★★1/2
The story of Mary Stuart is an almost unbelievable historical melodrama: following the death of her first husband, the young 16thcentury queen returned from France to her native Scotland to claim the throne away from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth. It includes no shortage of murder, scheming, sex, scandal, family feuds, rape, religion and, of course, royalty.
And that’s before any over-the-top theatrics were added by screenwriter Beau Willimon, best known as the creator behind House of Cards, in Mary, Queen of Scots. His efforts are brought to the screen by director Josie Rourke, whose experience in stage production translates here to gorgeous visuals, particularly when it comes to scenes set in the court. The duo dial up the heat on this feminist adaptation, including a gay affair, and a meeting between the two queens in a climactic scene (cleverly shot behind veils to maintain the fact that they never met face to face in reality) and a plethora of other dicey details.
A touch of diversity is also added to a story that, according to history, likely didn’t have much. Crazy Rich Asians’ Gemma Chan plays Bess of Hardwick, Elizabeth’s friend and advisor, while Adrian Lester plays her ambassador to Scotland and Ismael Cruz-cordova plays Mary’s secretary David Rizzio.
However, despite the modernization and salacious source material, Mary’s back-and-forth pursuit to conquer is a meandering one that quickly grows tiresome. How many indulgent historical romps depicting the same constricting social, royal and sexual mores do we need?
Nevertheless, Saoirse Ronan dons Mary’s crown as if it were weightless. It’s almost worth the two-hour plus run-time just to watch her deliciously scream at the endless line of useless men around her, including her brother, dim-witted second husband and team of advisers. By the time the credits roll, you’ll wish you had the honour of being cut down to size by her highness. Despite her displays of authority, Ronan also manages to remind us of just how young Mary was at the time — an 18-year-old widow. It’s a complex character with a dominating performance to back it up.
As such, Mary Queen of Scots marks the first time Queen Elizabeth has ever taken a back seat onscreen, played rather sheepishly by an unconvincing and accent-hopping Margot Robbie. Unfortunately, this is ruinous to the story structure, which presents Elizabeth as something of a loser: childless, single, hideous (thanks to a severe case of smallpox) and politically weak. Never mind that most of those so-called flaws were part of her strategy to remain on the throne for almost half a century.
We’re only ever given a hint of Elizabethan brilliance — a brief scene between the queen and her right-hand man, Cecil (Guy Pierce), in which she explains her decisions. For the most part, however, we don’t see much of her doing anything other than walking around and crying.
In reality, Mary’s side of history is much harder to sympathize with in Elizabeth’s shadow. Even with a powerhouse performance from Ronan and a script that shines a light on that shadow, it still feels like a story with two sides deserving of equal representation. ∏∏1/2