The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) User Reviews

What a horrible picture, just down right horrid. I thought that this might be a good picture like Elizabeth, but it's not even close. In the future I am going to read the reviews from the normal people on this site before I go to the movies. What a complete waste of time and money. Really. These actors and producers are making millions of dollars and then only put out crap like this. They are no longer getting my money.

05/22/2008, 9:34 am

I think I would have liked the movie better if I hadn't read the book. Although I read the book years ago, it seemed to me that the beginning was completely different. The relationships between the main characters weren't right, and I felt the movie put too much focus on Anne, when the book is more about Mary, hence the title. All in all, I felt the movie deviated from the book a bit too much.

05/22/2008, 9:34 am

Read the book, loved it, the movie completly ruined the book and should be ashamed to have the same title.

05/22/2008, 9:34 am

WE ALL LOVED THIS MOVIE.......GREAT ACTING BY ALL.....RECOMMEND IT!!!!!!

05/22/2008, 9:34 am

i just finnished reading the novel "The Other Boelyn Girl" and loved it and was very excited to see the movie but was very disappointed. The beginning is too slow, almost boring and then the ending happens in like 5 minutes-way too fast. I think the movie could have been much better. There were so many small details they could have incorporated in the movie but failed to. The relationships between all the characters were so unpassionate that they were unbelievable. I wanted to see the hatefulness and competiveness between the sisters but didn't. Mary says she loved the King but it seems all so fake. Many of the good parts in the book were completely left out. The acting seemed pathetic compared to the book. For example, in the novel when Anne is accused and everyone has to give there answer for guilty or not guily, the Uncle in the book "chokes on the word guilty" and her former love "leaves court and claims he is ill" because he is still in love with her-but in the film none of that takes place. the film had so much potential and could have been much better. my adivce: read the book. i don't even like to read. when i saw the previews for the film and deciced to read the book because the movie wasn't out yet. i couldn't even put the book down. if you read the book and watch the film, you will realize how captivating the book is and how much better the film could have been

05/22/2008, 9:34 am

I am so happy that I did NOT listen to the critics. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to my friends.

05/22/2008, 9:34 am

I love period movies, particularly those that are steeped in interesting history. Yet, I really had some problems with this movie. The history may have been "off" (I hadn't read the book), but I don't think that is what bothered me or prevented me from becoming more engaged in the plot. (One of my all-time favorite movies is "The Lion in Winter," and I think the history in this movie is somewhat faulty. But who cares? It's a great ride with terrific actors. And amazingly scathing dialogue.) For me, the problem with TOBG was the cast. I loved all/most of the supporting cast - the father, the uncle, the wonderful soon-to-be-ex-wife (Catherine of Aragon), etc. But the 3 main stars were pretty lame. The story was mostly about the relationship between the 2 sisters, but there was no connection between these two women on the screen. Probably because they were completely miscast. (As one of the earlier reviewers noted, they would have done better trading parts.) I usually like Natalie Portman, but she wasn't good here (though she fared better with the role the role toward the end). A temptress? Was she supposed to have come back "changed" after exile in France? She seemed exactly the same to me. Scarlett Johansson was worse. She's best as a bit of a sex pot (as in Match Point). She tries to play the "good girl" by being "blank." No, that's not "good. " That's just boring. And Eric Bana - who could reasonably blame his so-so performance on a lack of screen time and little dialogue - wasn't particularly helpful in defining the relationship between the two sisters. All in all, rather disappointing. Particularly because there are such better movies dealing w/ Henry III and/or Tudors including Anne of a Thousand Days.

05/22/2008, 9:33 am

Having loved and read the book and others by Philippa Gregory, and also being a tremendous history buff...I have been eagerly awaiting this film for many months. I am sorry to report that I was sorely disappointed...the film was colorful and filled with pretty scenery and lovely costumes, but the script was awful and (in my opinion) the role of Anne was woefully miscast. I am usually a great fan of Natalie Portman, but I found her performance to be uncomfortably forced...her face literally contorted each and every time she opened her mouth...and her accent and mannerisms were simply not right. She looked too silly and girlish in this role, which, simply did not showcase her considerable talents. The movie was also most annoyingly choppy...it seemed to be one long series of discordant two minute scenes, one after the other...filled in alternately with either people riding furiously on horseback, or (a much too young and thin) Henry VIII stomping around in a rage, feathers flying...sorry...glad I saw it, but honestly, it's a rental.

05/22/2008, 9:33 am

If you read the book, don't see it. If you've taken a history class, don't see it. If you've seen even a preview for The Tudors, don't see it. While the two female leads are very good-Natalie Portman in particular-the movie lacks the drama of the actual history. Glossing over, fast forwarding, changing ,and then sticking to history at times, it's awkward and hard to follow. Sounds fast and it is, yet curiously stagnant as well. The semi-historical novel version had all the drama needed, and to save time and add sex they went this strange chopped up yet zoomed in route. This is a story and a cast with great potential, which only makes its failure more disappointing.

05/22/2008, 9:33 am