This, friends, is the Christy pick for April. Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) returns to Scotland after being widowed to take the mantle of Queen. Like her famous cousin, Elizabeth (Margot Robbie), Mary struggles with keeping her power from grasping hands who would seek to usurp her and put a man on her throne. This is further complicated by politics that would pit the two female monarchs against one another.
This is not a new story or even a new take on the story and that cannot help but drag the film down. It's bolstered by excellent performances by Ronan and Robbie, gorgeous scenery, and sumptuous costumes. It's also the first English historical epic I've seen to feature a truly diverse cast, LGBT acceptance, and a real exploration of the precariousness of these royal women. Unfortunately, none of that is enough to save it from being overly long, punctuated with boredom, and still reliant on overused tropes.
Mary herself is not a very likeable character and it's hard to sympathize with her when she constantly puts her foot in her mouth. In fact, pretty much everyone in this film is kind of an asshole. Dudley (Joe Alwyn) and Darnley (Jack Lowden) are petulant, cowardly whiners as the love interests to Elizabeth and Mary, respectively. Guy Pearce is manipulative, James McArdle is entitled, and the only one who seems like he's having any fun at all is David Tennant. And not just because he gets to wear a giant beard and use his real accent.
Out of all the amazing women in history, why do we keep returning to the same dry wells? There are thousands of untold stories from every culture in the world of warrior queens, savvy diplomats, and puppet masters. Where's my Dolly Madison biopic? Boudicca? Hatshepsut? My non-Disneyfied Mulan?
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