Mary Queen of Scots

— “Mary Queen of Scots” is a fine film as period dramas go, but not anything extraordinary. It has the lush landscapes and vibrant colors and costumes, as well as a fair share of scheming by treacherous men and sly women. Margo Robbie and Saoirse Ronan do more than an adequate job as Elizabeth and Mary, in spite of a script that spends a lot of time telling us what’s happening instead of letting us see the events. This may be because the film falls into today’s black hole of depicting men as conniving, back-stabbing, buffoons and dandies, in a world where women are sisters with sharp minds and forgiving hearts who would change the world if only the men weren’t in the way. I will say that the film is at its best when focused on the two Queens’ motivations and constraints. What can I say, it may actually be, as one critic suggested, the film for people who didn’t like the less conventional and more outrageous “The Favourite.”

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[2018. 124 min. Directed by Josie Rourke. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, and Jack Lowden.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mary-queen-of-scots-2018