Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Movie Review: Mary Queen of Scots

Allison and I are starting off 2019 strong - we've already seen a movie! After a rough second half to 2018, I don't think we'll see many Oscar contenders this year, but we've decided that isn't necessarily a bad thing since a lot of them time those movies aren't really our style, ha. We kicked off 2018 with Mary Queen of Scots.


Plot: Mary Stuart's attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.

Review: I remember approximately 0% of this period in history, so I was really invested in this movie. It was really well-made, Allison and I both commented on the make-up {specifically Elizabeth's}, costumes, sets, etc. The plot was so crazy, it's hard to believe that it was largely real - it played out like a soap opera! I felt a little confused at the beginning but quickly got into the story and was on the edge of my seat many times. It's also led into a lot of reading by both Allison and me and some podcast listening to delve into the complicated lives of these cousins - 2 female queens living in a time ruled by men - FASCINATING STUFF. One thing we both found interesting was that Mary had a valid claim to the throne and, to many, one that preceded Elizabeth's. Allison discovered that every King or Queen of England since Elizabeth has actually been a descendant of Mary's and not Elizabeth's. Overall, I'd say we both really enjoyed this movie. If you like history or period pieces or spy and intrigue stories, you'll like this - it's got a little bit of everything!

2 comments:

Emily said...

How would you compare this (set, characters, etc) to the Crown? Adam really likes the Crown but generally avoids historical period pieces

Anonymous said...

Great first movie of 2019! - AP