Weeks Too Late: The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl. Directed by Justin Chadwick & written by Peter Morgan.

Preconceptions: I knew we had this screeching change of pace coming in advance (I know, no vampires in the Other Boleyn Girl, I don't get it either), so I had a chance to look into the versions of the Other Boleyn Girl available to me: a Hollywood blockbuster with Scarlet Johansson and Natalie Portman or something done by the BBC. I decided on the BBC one before I got part of the way down the description of the Hollywood one. The BBC version suffered from a lot of issues, the worst of which was some truly bad directorial choices. There was a lot of spinning the camera around in a dizzying fashion and cutting to the present for no very good reason. It was a bit of a mess and not very entertaining. So I thought maybe I made the wrong choice, maybe this is the type of movie that would benefit from a bit of big budget spectacle. Besides, I like period pieces even when they're weak, so watching a second one was no big imposition.

General Review: It's rare that I get to see an idea castrated so totally. What I like about the Other Boleyn Girl is that it's the story of a wicked man and a wicked woman getting exactly what they deserve from each other, both of them choosing to ignore the better example of Mary (the good and, so, boring one). But this version of the movie decided it would be a good idea to weaken both Henry and Anne to try and make them relatable and make you feel sorry for them despite their consistent bad behaviour. Anne and Henry are most enjoyable as love-to-hate characters and softening them doesn't really make them more likable, it just makes them less fun. As it was, the first half of the movie wanted us to hate Anne for being a manipulative cow and feel a bit sorry for Henry for being a dolt. The second half wanted us to forgive Anne and shake our fists at Henry (who'd turned into a rapist). Do I even need to say that having a character get raped is a cheap way to make them more sympathetic? In the right hands a rape scene can jar me right off my desensitized throne (so can other well pulled off violence), but all this made me do was throw a pillow, cross my arms and scream "emotionally manipulative" at the TV (I'm afraid I make a ridiculous picture when I'm watching movies to review).

While I'm on the subject of the de-fanging (and I'll be on this for a while) why is it that so many movies can sexualize every damn thing except sex itself? Horseback riding? Sexy and fetishized to the point of Anne talking about clamping on things with her thighs. Bathing? Dressing? Highly sexual. But when we get down to the actual intercourse it could be two gauze clad boards rubbing against each other for all the passion the scenes evoke. The BBC version had its problems (oh boy did it, video blog style for something set in the 1500s? Pfft) but in it the sex scenes were at least sexy. I don't just mean they showed a bit of tit and male thigh (though they did) there was a sense of chemistry between the actors.

Finally, and I promise this is my last bit of railing on this point, Chadwick and Morgan wussed out on the incest. Yes, it hinks me out too, but that was an effective way of showing Anne's desperation and fear, unlike the ridiculous rape scene. If they were going to take it out entirely (because it's probably pretty inaccurate, historically) then they should have just been rid of it entirely. Teasing incest and then having the characters decide at the last minute that they can't do it is wimpy.

The movie wasn't entirely a toothless, neutered beast (only mostly) and some of the actors did show skill. Ana Torrent, playing Henry's first Queen Katherine was a cut above the rest of this flick. She had a strong presence and unlike a lot of the actors didn't just deliver her lines in an English accent and figure that was close enough to acting. The scene where she confronts Henry about divorcing her is the strongest the movie gets.Natalie Portman (who I have enjoyed in other things, though I think I may be the only one) didn't give a noteworthy performance. She wasn't exactly bad, but didn't raise herself much beyond being a coat rack that things happened around. I'd love to see her play another wicked witch character a few years down the road with a little more practice, I saw some glimmers of interesting talent. Scarlett Johansson was surprisingly good. Mostly, I just see her in things where she needs to be hot and not a whole lot else (the coat rack school of acting). Her skills weren't stunning in this, but she did manage to hold her own and there were some surprisingly good make-up effects to make her look haggard and not vixen-ly. I have a particular fondness for Eric Bana but there was definitely a part of me shrieking that he wasn't fat or old enough for the role. At least Bana isn't exactly the usual hunky type and I understand that casting someone who looks like Henry wouldn't lend itself to sexual charisma (though they made it work in the Sopranos so this might still be laziness).

In fact, laziness characterizes this movie over all. Anything chancy or scandalous has been snipped out of it and there weren't nearly enough stellar performances to dig it out of the ditch of boring. Sadly, you won't find the BBC version to be a whole lot better (though it is a lot racier). If these two movies could have been fused together there might have been something worth watching, the competence of the production of the Hollywood version melded with the willingness to be daring of the BBC version. Unfortunately, they haven't been and neither part stands on its own.

Aside: I know, I know that stupid B necklace was firmly placed in the book and possibly in history as well-but honestly is something that looks like this what you want your aristocratic character to be wearing?


While looking up "trashy letter necklace" to use in my comparison, the B necklace was on the second page. Clearly, I'm not alone in my thoughts on this matter.

Girl on Book Action: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
ISBN: 0-7432-2744-1

Blurb:

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.

***

Aside:  What's this we're doing a movie / book crossover that doesn't involve vampires?  Next thing you know we'll be building snow forts in hell!

My Thoughts:

Oh where should I start? This was so trashy – and I don’t know why I was a little surprised since it’s a historical romance. If you happen to be following me on twitter, you might have seen me mention that it was like reading centuries’ old gossip. As such, it was a quick and mostly fun read, nothing to really think too deeply about (aside from my usual feminist musings which we’ll get to later, I know, you are just dying to get to that part!). And you know, my hat is off to Philippa Gregory – she wrote this 600+ page tome of a novel and I was fairly immersed in this English court from long ago and really more interested in this gossip about people long dead than I’d like to admit. I guess it speaks to our culture of voyeurism, we not only want to see into other people’s lives now through blogs and twitter, etc, but we also want to do the same with people in the past, even if we do so through a book that is a fictional account of history.

Alright, let me get on a different soap box here (I have so many to choose from!).

Let’s talk characters, shall we? It’s a pretty straight-forward plot with the kind of mudslinging and jostling for position that we all seem to expect when we talk about monarchies and courtiers. And we all know how things ended for Queen Anne, the poor dear. I have to say that I may have preferred to read this story from Anne’s point of view – or if not this particular novel, then I think I’d like to read a novel written from Anne’s point of view, because she seemed like the more interesting sister. Mary was sort of plain and naïve, always so naïve. I know that the blurb says she is determined and takes her fate into her own hands, but – and this might be a spoiler, I really can’t tell – she doesn’t do it alone. She meets a man who is according to everyone a “nobody” because he isn’t part of the gentry and he woos her with some pretty words and she follows him around. To me, that’s not really determination to change her life. I mean, sure she has to choose to defy everyone to marry someone who isn’t a courtier, but that doesn’t seem nearly as big an accomplishment as Anne deposing a born princess-turned-queen. Another character I think I need to address is that of King Henry VIII - I don't know why, but he is portrayed for a large part of the book as handsome and attractive. Now, maybe I don't know as much about King Henry as I should, but I was under the impression that he was a fat glutton of a man. Power is attractive, but to turn him into a young beautiful gentleman seems a bit much. He doesn't get to be fat until he's married to Anne, so when Mary is his mistress she keeps talking about how handsome he is and it really made me shake my head. I guess it's not romantic if you're sleeping with a fat glutton.

Maybe my problem is that I’m not used to reading romance novels or at least not these kinds of romance novels (I read my share of paranormal romance) and therefore I’m looking for a feminist heroine, a woman who follows through on what she wants to do – which would have been Anne. Sadly, at some parts Anne is simply vilified as the mean sister of the two. The end seems to take some of the earlier vilification away, and it’s important to remember that it’s all told from Mary’s point of view and sisters fight, but still, I wanted to read about Anne. I wanted to know what Anne thought and felt and did and the toll her life took on her. I wanted to read about the ambitious sister striving for the throne. I don’t know why I was looking for a feminist novel in a historical romance, but I was and that is simply a silly idea. This novel is not about feminism, it’s about entertainment.

Right, see, I warned you that there would be feminist talk.

Now, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book for its entertainment value.  I enjoyed the gossipy nature of it, the portrayal of the striving court families and the things they were willing to do in order to gain favour with the king.  The writing was solid and (aside from Henry being attractive) I found the story and characters to be engaging and believable.

My overall opinion is that if you want to read some old, fictional gossip you might as well read this book. It’s a quick, easy read that (assuming you’re not trying to bed or wed an English king) will take your mind off life for a while. And I’m going to have to go in search of a novel about Anne Boleyn, where she is portrayed as ambitious and educated and witty and all those things will be positive attributes, even if they lead to her eventual downfall.

Weeks Too Late: Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch. Directed & Written by George A. Romero.

Preconceptions: I've been a Romero fan since I was a blushing girl of 15. His blend of viscerally violent horror mixed with good dialogue and ham handed (to my grown up, more sophisticated sensibilities) satire have always cut to the core of what I enjoy. Plus, he was into zombies well before they were cool. His more recent movies have been a terrible let down, Diary of the Dead was clearly the journal of a sad old man who no longer understands what's cool and yells at his grandchildren to explain what a video blog is. After seeing that pathetic mess, I decided to finally treat myself. I've been saving Season of the Witch for a while, it's the only one of the old Romero films I haven't seen, so I settled in to be reminded what I love about horror.

General Review: Y'know, I don't know that I'd call Season of the Witch a horror film. I think if I'd gone into it knowing that I'd have liked it better. It was shot like a horror, felt like it was culminating to a horrific conclusion but ended up being more about liberation and self discovery. Actually, liberation and self discovery and how those things can come at a high price and still might leave you feeling lousy. I guess that's horrific in a way, but not so much in the zombies clawing at the window way that I was expecting.

Season of the Witch was shot very much in that tight, occasionally delusional style that I like so well. It had a number of bizarre symbolic dream sequences that reminded me both of the Prisoner for their strangeness and the Stepford Wives for their ability to make the everyday sinister and frightening. The dream sequences were by far the most effective part of the movie. Close shots, strange sound effects and frantic, half hidden action all made for memorable visuals. The reoccurring themes and images the occur in and outside of the dreams also worked well.

Unfortunately, this movie really lacked in action. I've since read that Romero didn't really care for this one, saying that he didn't get the performance out of the actors that he was looking for. I thought the actors were fine, Jan White (who played the lead) in particular. But her haunting eyes and well-portrayed disdain for her life of 70's wife-ery didn't save several long-ass scenes that didn't go anywhere. I understand that Romero wanted us to feel the same loathing for both the hippie douchebags and the middle class douchebags (ah there is the delightfully heavy hand of Romero social commentary), but when I want to be involved in a boring party or mean trick on a house wife, I'm perfectly capable of staging either. I don't need to be present for every agonizing minute of it. What was more irksome was that once I'd gotten through the dull party and into the witching not much happened there either. Sitting quietly at a table and chanting doesn't make for a whole lot of tension. I think we were meant to buy that Jan White had abused her witch-ay woman powers and was being punished for it with bad dreams-but this was just confusing since she started the movie with bad dreams, before she every tried the dark arts. Also, a character being afraid of their dreams and not doing anything about it doesn't really constitute action, either. I saw the longer cut (by Anchor Bay) of the movie thinking that I was in good hands, but maybe the shorter version would have been less frustrating.

I can't, in good conscience, recommend Season of the Witch. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of things I liked about it. I liked the complexity of the idea that freeing yourself from an oppressive society maybe isn't as great as it's made out to be. I loved the dream sequences and Jan White, whose presence carried a movie that was very nearly a one-hander (no, shockingly I'm not talking about that, this time). But when a movie that's only a little over an hour and a half drags there is clearly a problem with the plot or pacing. This movie needed more going on in it, something at stake and it flailed around looking for these things and never found them.

Aside: On a more superficial note, if your lead is supposed to be aging and realizing her daughter is younger and hotter than her, perhaps you could cast someone who looks significantly younger and hotter to play the daughter.

Girl on Book Action: Blood and Iron: A Novel of the Promethean Age by Elizabeth Bear

Blood and Iron: A Novel of the Promethean Age by Elizabeth Bear
ISBN: 978-0-451-46217-6

Blurb:

For centuries, the human Mages of the Prometheus Club and the otherworldly creatures of Faerie have battled for control of Earth’s destiny, with neither side capable of achieving victory over the other.

Their impasse has come to an end...

She is known as Seeker. Spellbound by the Faerie Queen, she has abducted human children for her mistress’ pleasure for what seems like an eternity, unable to free herself from her servitude and reclaim her own humanity.

Seeker’s latest prey is a Merlin. Named after the legendary wizard of Camelot, Merlins are not simply those who wield magic – they are magic. Now, with the Prometheus Club’s agents and rivals from Faerie also vying for the favor of this being of limitless magic to tip the balance of power, Seeker must persuade the Merlin to join her cause...or else risk losing something even more precious and more important to her than the fate of humankind.

***

My Thoughts:

I came across Elizabeth Bear’s work in the Lovecraft Unbound anthology and was really taken with her story – probably my second favourite in the book after the Caitlin R. Kiernan piece – so I thought I’d track down one of her novels. Blood and Iron seemed like the best candidate based on my personal preference for Fantasy of Science Fiction and I have to say I am rather pleased that I picked it up, because it’s a really good book.

However, I’m going to start with my two smallish gripes. The first is that at times I felt like I was reading the second book in a series rather than the actual beginning. It seemed like there was a lot of back-story that I was missing and that would have added to my understanding of the characters. As the story progressed and more details were filled in, that feeling lessened. The second is that about halfway through the book the Seeker sections (Seeker is the central character of the novel) switch from third person to first person point of view, which threw me for a bit of a loop. There is a narrative reason for this that I won’t give away, but it was startling when it happened. Once I got over the initial flinch of the switch, I actually really appreciate the way Bear added a layer of meaning through this shift.

Now for all of the wonderful things!

Blood and Iron is a gripping story about faeries and mages and the conflict between humans and the unknown. It’s a story about stories and what is “real” and about love and loyalty and the cost and consequences of our decisions. It’s so many things all wrapped up in a neat urban-fantasy bundle. I’m actually a little sad that I didn’t know about Bear’s books before now, because this type of faerie story is what I crave when I read something like Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry books and that I don’t get from those at all. Yes, there was sex in this book, but it mostly happened off-stage, acknowledged but not the focus of the story. Instead, the focus was on the characters and how their decisions shaped the world around them, both on the side of the human mages and on the side of the faeries.

The characters kept me interested and I enjoyed watching them grow and change and sacrifice all in the name of survival, because both sides know that they can’t truly win. I also liked that there was an attempt made to strike a balance to show why both sides are the way they are – my feeling stayed with the faeries throughout – but Bear did make a clear effort to show the reasoning behind the actions of the Prometheus Club and did an admirable job of making them accessible and human (you, know, making the humans human as we must so often do). Another aspect I really enjoyed was the references to mythology and Arthurian legend, which seem appropriate to a fairy tale.

Okay, I have to stop or I’m just going to keep going on about all the little things I liked so much about this novel. I will conclude with saying that if you’re interested in urban fantasy, faeries, or Arthurian legend you may need to check this out.

Aside: I don’t know what it is but Vlad the Impaler is stalking me in literature – yet another book where he is mentioned at least in passing.

Shawn O'Rouke Does Locke and Key

Locke and Key written by Joe Hill. Reviewed by Shawn O'Rouke.

The back-cover copy of Joe Hill’s horrifying bestseller, Heart-Shaped Box - recently and superbly reviewed by Doomwench - has a blurb from master-storyteller, Neil Gaiman. You open the book and there prefacing the first chapter is a quotation from Alan Moore, author of The Watchmen, V for Vendetta and countless other seminal works of graphic fiction. It certainly doesn’t take the world’s greatest detective to realize that the author must be a fan of comic books. This deduction is only reinforced when one reads the author’s earlier collection, 20th Century Ghosts, in which one story, "The Cape", offers a dark re-imagining of the superhero story. With such obvious connections to the medium, it seemed inevitable to fans of Hill that the writer would eventually find his way into writing comics. Fortunately, their wait was a short one. Hill made his first foray in the comic book world with the Eisner-nominated series, Locke and Key. Published by IDW, an imprint noted particularly for its horror comics, the series is broken into books, the third of which has just been released in a collected edition. 

Locke and Key is the story of a family trying to rebuild itself in the wake of tragedy, plagued by ghosts from the past - both real and internal - and seeking refuge in a magical house called Lovecraft. The story is terrifying, with its foundation firmly embedded in the horror genre but also cleverly weaving in the tropes from fantasy and young adult fiction. While some prose writers rely on assistance from established comic book creators to guide them while taking their first tentative steps into the medium, Hill shows that his skills as a creator are equal to the task, and he handles the transition with ease. His narrative style flourishes in the comic book medium where the artwork is able to capture the nuance and emotional depths, delving deeply into the nature of grief, fear, and guilt with a subtlety that demands the reader’s involvement in a way denied by limitations of prose. In a very real way, although Hill’s books are wonderful, a part of his creativity has not just found a home in comics, but been liberated by them. 

The artwork by Gabriel Rodriguez expertly captures the surreal sense of unease that permeates all the panels, ubiquitous and ever-present even in the sequences that are not overtly meant to frighten. To some degree, he does his job too well. The story has many plots that involve scenes of extreme violence, and Rodriguez captures those moments in a way that is not just terrifying, but disturbing. These moments are not meant to be voyeuristic like cheesy slasher films where the viewer can experience and explore violence as both perpetrator and victim in a safe fantasy world; these are all-too-real and force the reader to confront a brutality that while contextually fictional, painfully replicates a very present part of the world.

Despite the artwork that sometimes makes you want to put the book down and go outside into the sunshine, the story keeps demanding that it be completed. Although replete with fascinating characters and evil villains in extreme situations, it also meditates on the themes of loss and regret in a way that is immediately relatable. Hill explores these crucial emotions by examining the nature of memory with the visual symbolism of the locked doors and the keys which open them. 

For those who enjoy complex characters, Locke and Key has plenty to offer. The story jumps between a multitude of different perspectives, including the villains’, and gives the requisite time and attention to explore their motivations and make them real. Hill expertly divides the majority of his time to the three protagonists, seamlessly transitioning between the angst of teens - which has been compounded by a past tragedy -, and the whimsy and naivete of youth, with its surprising ability to endure even in the darkest times. Such is the level of genuine care in the construction of these characters, that there is no blurring of the respective rolls accorded to each: you hate who Hill wants you to hate, and you love who Hill wants you to love. 

With Locke and Key, Joe Hill has been able to make a transition that is no doubt the envy of many fanboys and girls (including myself); he has left the world of the comic book fan, hinted at with his earlier works, and become a highly acclaimed comic book creator. This story is a wonderful synthesis of the skills he honed as a writer of prose, wedded to the style and structure of the medium he clearly loves. Thus far three collections have been released, Welcome to Lovecraft, Head Games, and Crown of Shadows - all excellent reads, well-worth your time and money.

Final Thoughts:

This review is a little more gushing than the ones I typically write. There is a school of thought in criticism that admonishes the writer to separate the critic in them from the fan - as if to enjoy something is somehow an abdication of the roll we’ve been assigned (or assigned ourselves). While I don’t necessarily subscribe to that interpretation, I don’t completely eschew it either. However, when given a chance to write something for the folks at Girl on Book Action, I decided to review something I genuinely loved as a thank you for the opportunity. Consequently, I wrote with a little more fanboy enthusiasm than I might have normally, but I assure the readers that the book is truly worth the praise I’ve given it.

******

When Shawn isn't being wrangled by crazy women into writing for their blog, he's writing his own at the Uncertain Future of the Printed Word or other comic reviews at Popmatters. We heartily endorse his efforts and so should you.

Announcement: Upcoming Guest Post By Shawn O'Rourke

It's a link heavy week here at Girl On Book Action as Doomwench went out into the wilderness to do a guest spot at one of our brother blogs the Uncertain Future of the Printed Word (a fair and balanced look at the books/e-readers controversy). You can find her biased (oh I kid) but beautifully written piece here. We decided (after great debate because over our writer's room door there is a no boyz allud sign) to ask Shawn to do a guest review for us. He kindly agreed to dress in drag while writing it so as not to entirely throw off our written by women atmosphere. He is, to steal a joke from Matt Elser (of ElserArt) our guest *ahem* member.

A (very) little info about Shawn to whet your appetite for the guest blog (posting August 20th): Shawn O'Rourke currently teaches in the Speech Communication Department at Orange Coast College and writes reviews on comic books for the website Popmatters.