Period dramas are ten a penny in Hollywood, especially as we get closer to awards season. We all know what they look like and what they do. Give or take a few, they mostly exist to allow movie stars to show off their thespian credentials, and to give costume designers, makeup artists and hairstylists some Oscar nominations.
Mary Queen of Scots, starring Saroise Ronan and Margot Robbie, as Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth respectively, does start off feeling like more of the same. Wide shots of the beautiful British countryside, lavish dresses, elaborate hair pieces, and Shakespearean dialogue. But as the film progresses, it begins to gather momentum and begins to carve its own identity. There is less focus on the swords, and the men carrying those swords. Instead, the movie is more interested in the political machinations of the courtiers and counselors surrounding the two queens. Which shouldn’t be a surprise once you know that the script is penned by Beau Willimon, the scribe responsible for political thrillers like The Ides of March and House of Cards. Although this is far from his best work, there is enough wit, intrigue, and drama to ensure a good two hours at the cinema. The screenplay also spends more time with characters and less time with the plot. Which is both a strength and a weakness. The more intimate nature of the story allows for more relatable characters and hence a greater emotional response as the various character arcs reach their climax. But it also means that the complex historical plot is often confined to clunky exposition or shoehorned into quick montages.
Translating his script to the screen is Josie Rourke, an awarding winning theatre director, who is helming her first feature film. She does a great job of breaking out of her theatrical roots and making a very cinematic film. Much like the script, she starts off slow and safe but slowly gets more and more confident and her style starts to come to the forefront. There are some very uniquely shot scenes which help the movie to break away from the shackles of prestige film formula, especially in the second half. However, it's not all perfect. There are some very peculiar editing choices which make the already convoluted plot more confusing. The first half is rather slow, which probably resulted in the second half feeling rushed. At multiple points, it felt as if a few scenes, and with them, some important plot points, were missing. There were also several jumps in time and space which were not entirely clear and needed some mental calculus to figure out where we were in the story.
Having said all that, make no mistake, this an actors movie. Margot Robbie will probably garner the most attention. She is the one wearing the ‘ugly’ makeup, has crazy hair, and manic outbursts. And although she is predictably brilliant, the more impressive performance was from Saoirse Ronan. She has a more pronounced character arc. She is more subtle and nuanced in her portrayal, often needing no more than a glance or a shift in facial expression to completely capture the essence of a scene. Saoirse is also, being the titular Queen of Scots, clearly the lead. Her screen time is far more than Margot Robbie’s who appears intermittently throughout the movie which means that her character often jumps from one point to another with a lot of key development missing. But she still manages to be captivating and complex and her impact is felt even when she is not on screen. The supporting actors are also very good even though most of their characters are thinly written and simple archetypes.
On the whole, Mary Queen of Scots is a solid enough piece of familiar entertainment with enough novelty to make it worthy of matinee prices. It also follows The Favourite, in telling the real-life story of complex female characters in positions of power, which makes it a breath of fresh air amongst the myriad of period pieces about European royalty.
