Capture the Tiara

Apr 14, '08 5:49 AM
for everyone

Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

The only knowledge I knew about the Tudors was about King Henry XIII and his meandering with establishing the Church of England to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon. Of course I found the issue feisty and scandalous, but you kind of forget the relevance of the "other" wives knowing that he has six of them.

But then you meet the Boleyn sisters. Romanticised in the novel "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory, the adaptation to film was just AMAZING. I've had a copy at hand for awhile, but I haven't gotten around watching it until now. (The last film I saw was a month ago, I do not win in life.)

But yes, I've wanted to watch it because of the stellar cast (any movie with Natalie Portman = FTW) and strong feminist tones. Not that I'm a hard-core feminist, but seriously, if you want to see the throve of female manipulation in the middle ages, this is it. I loved Kristin Scott Thomas's character as Lady Elizabeth Boleyn. Again, here's my fetish for minor characters, but she was the foothold of wisdom amongst the Boleyns, and yes, her role as a mother was largely fulfilled, and greatly unappreciated. So here I am to appreciate it. I love that dramatic spiel wherein she said "our only son, forced to marry someone he does not love, another one in exile, and the other... whoring herself in public as an adultress!" (or something like that). It was a story about flirting with power, and the prerequisite to the entire process, betrayal. Classical themes, but packaged so exquisitely through this film.

Visually, it was AMAZING. As in it was just so beautiful, the aesthetics was just impeccable. Yes, I did visit one of King Henry XIII's palaces two years ago, but this film just totally brought a whole new vibe to the architecture of the era. It was captured wonderfully in film, the production design definitely brought something very genuine about the story, even if we all know that it's historical fiction.

Or maybe you don't, but I'm telling you right now that it is.

Planning to read the book now. (Speaking of which, the movie poster did remind me of Gossip Girl. Hehehehe).

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shutteredtruth wrote on Apr 14

haven't watched it yet, but FTW? your knowledge of gaming terminology got me smiling. will watch now thanks to your review. heheh

euphoricescape wrote on Apr 14

wow! you watched it? my friend had an interesting book about king henry XIII. It was a cartoon version of England's history. It was really entertaining and informative. It was easier to learn about England's history that way.

Anyways, I really want to watch this movie. :) I hope it's really a good adaptation.

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

shutteredtruth said

your knowledge of gaming terminology got me smiling.

haha, actually, gaming slang gets infiltrated to mainstream internet jargon. at first nga i thought it was a dyslexic WTF. Hehehehehe.

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

euphoricescape said

I hope it's really a good adaptation.

Apparently, it's a historically inaccurate adaptation, and it even disappoints a lot of the book readers. I'm going to see that for myself na lang when I pick up a copy one of these days. Although siyempre iba na perspective ko kasi attached na ako dun sa film.

marianpanganiban wrote on Apr 14

On under-appreciated characters: I also love the character of Catherine Aragorn, especially the part where she encounters Anne and Mary on the way to her separation trial and says, "Ah, the Boleyn whores." If the poster reminds you of Gossip Girl, the women verbal catfights remind me of Mean Girls circa 1500s.

I wasn't impressed much with the movie though. I really felt they could've showcased Scarlett and Natalie's acting prowess more given their stellar pairing...the film just doesn't consistently engage the viewer as I initially expected.

But I love the film overall. :)

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

Actually, gusto ko rin when Catherine challenged her husband to the Pope. It was so polite and formal yet, mataray. Hahahaha.

I get what you mention about showcasing of acting, a lot of the emotions were subtly played, you have to force your way into thinking through the characters. But I guess that's what I enjoyed about it. I still love Natalie and Scarlett. I guess yung problem lang is that you have two big stars sharing the same screentime, but both characters came off to me as equally important.

marianpanganiban wrote on Apr 14

Haha CK, online ka! The reply was fast. Yep, oo nga. Credit rin should go to the scriptwriter and director na walang sapawang naganap between Natalie and Scarlett. I love them both here. :)

tetsybetsy wrote on Apr 14

sino si ann boleyn sa movie?

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

tetsybetsy said

sino si ann boleyn sa movie?

Natalie Portman was. (=

patticakes wrote on Apr 14

hahaha yes!!! I loved this movie too!!! Super depressing and thing is I knew walking into the movie how it was going to end, so there is no one to blame but myself. I love how the casting didn't go the usual route with Natalie doing Mary and Scarlett doing Anne. I love how there's versatility with the actresses. And Jim Sturgess FTW!!! SO hot. I wanted to kill the uncle simula pa lang and well ERIC BANA did King Henry a million favors. Seriously, the Tudors have never been so hot. Oh wait, Jonathan Rhys Meyers pala. But somehow I prefer Eric Bana. Damn he was horny.

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

patticakes said

I would have to say Eric Bana was slight disappointment, especially in the horniness department. Parang hindi ko masyadong na feel yung passion, I wasn't able to read it in his eyes. But I must admit, Eric's really a lot hotter than Henry, from the pictures, I know that Henry had a HUGE beer belly, mala-Santa Claus talaga, but Eric's body *drop jaw*

I kind of forgot what was going to happen with Anne. Although I remembered meron pang isang wife si Henry na magiging ganun din ang tadhana. (spoiler free comment!) Okay, checked Wiki. Tama nga ako. Hehehehehe.

quiteadarklord wrote on Apr 14

^ That was Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, who shared the same fate as Anne's. :s Adultery rin, pero this time guilty talaga ang reyna. Hehehehehe. :p

I think swak na swak ang pagkakacast kay Natalie as Anne Boleyn - matalino daw talaga kasi at macharm si Anne sabi ng mga historians. On the other hand, I agree that the producers are really doing a big favor to the Tudors, what with Eric Bana as Henry. Hehehehe.

nicocab wrote on Apr 14

The movie was brilliant! And, yes, I loved Kristin Scott Thomas's character, too.

lessthanthreegtec wrote on Apr 14

Kristin Scott Thomas was divine. Slight spoiler: in the book, you kind of forget about the "mom" character a lot since the author didn't really have much to say about her. But in the movie, the character came out more, but it wasn't forced naman, tama lang. Kristin Scott Thomas really has a presence that's so beautifully subtle. She played the role with a perfect balance of restraint and assertiveness that was so believably characteristic of the women of those times.

Yes, Eric Bana was disappointing. Buti na lang you'll be too engrossed with Scarlett and Natalie and everyone else to notice.

My favorite scene was the second to the last one, yung kinuha ni Mary si Elizabeth with matching "Hand me the child" or something. Powerful moment, when they went down the hall. Parang, keber sa inyo, I'm holding my niece and she WILL be queen.

And, well, the guy who played George was hot. (Jim Sturgess, right?)

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

Hehehe. Yup, Catherine Howard, the second Catherine wife ni Henry VIII.

It's so unfair thou', if you commit adultery to the King, it's high treason. But if the King commits it, it's a monarch secret. Double standards!!!!!!

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

Yup, Jim Sturgess, the guy in Across the Universe (which was a film I was grossly disappointed at).

I heard nga that in the book, medyo apathetic si Lady Elizabeth, pero I agree your characterisation of her in the film, that's why I loved her. As in, buti na lang mag-isa ko siya pinanood, I was literally clapping on her comments, however infrequent they are, because she did a better portrayal in balancing the characters of both Mary and Anne.

I love the "hand me the child" scene rin. And I love how the opening scene went back as the ending scene as well. ALAVET. I will probably watch it again.

shinytiara wrote on Apr 14

Hehe. At gusto kong i-strangle si uncle duke at yung dad. I don't understand why the uncle wanted the Boleyn girls to go down thou' towards the end. Was it badly established or medyo nag-space out lang ba ako?

ekspi wrote on Apr 16

nice. love the story...

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Capture the Tiara