The trailer of Mary Queen of Scots led me to believe that I was going to watch a portrayal of the Brits in a not so glorious light and an ever defiant Scotland. The film was directed by Josie Rourke who has come from a stage directing background and written by Beau Willimon (House of Cards, Ides of March).
The film was shot beautifully with sweeping shots of the Scottish landscape. The costume design was spectacular with the changing fashions, hair and make-up of Queen Elizabeth I depicted over the years in a creative time lapse.
One of the film’s highlights was the secret exchange between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots in a wash house. Of course, this was creative license by Beau Willimon but it worked well and gave the actors, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie a chance to shine.
There were a lot of references to fertility with the depiction of cleaning the period blood of May Queen of Scots and the comments of her ladies in waiting of how her period had arrived early that month. I don’t know why this was necessary for the plot. It was also a bit weird to see the juxtaposition of Mary Queen of Scots giving birth then blood flowing between her legs onto stained sheets with that of Queen Elizabeth I with decorative paper flowers in red and white (the Tudor Rose) in between her legs. Was this to show that she was trying to bear children but could not? Was it to show that she instead bore creative Tudor rose paper crafts?
Perhaps I am being a bit harsh. It must be hard for an American male writer to convey a British history of two very powerful women in a visual way. Wouldn’t it be nice for a British woman writer to be commissioned to write the screenplay for such iconic women of history. Maybe then, we would see more convincing depictions of women in authority roles; their struggles, fears, passions and feats. Maybe, having a woman writer wouldn’t make much difference…but it would be nice to find out.
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