The Other Boleyn GirlMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 50 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    An enjoyable movie with an entertaining angle on a hard-to-resist period of history. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    A classy romantic cocktail distinguished by its tart yet breezy bite. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Derek Elley

    A sexy, good-looking political bodice-ripper with an almost flawless cast at the top of its game. Read full review

  • 63
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    In Portman's dynamic performance you can see strength and vulnerability warring for Anne's soul. In this bedroom view of history, it's that image that sticks. Read full review

  • 60
    The Hollywood Reporter | Ray Bennett

    Shot in high definition and filmed at many historic locations, the film somehow still lacks the splendor of an epic, and its urgency to get on with the next plot point leaves much unexplained while context goes out the window. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Not content to be a mildly diverting royal bodice-ripper, it spirals out of control into the kind of overwrought dramaturgy that's out of its league. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Can't quite figure out what it wants to be. At times it strains to be a stately period drama about 16th-century political intrigue. Then it devolves into soap opera muck and emerges as a rather tame bodice ripper. Read full review

  • 40
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    After covering much of its ground at a stylish canter, The Other Boleyn Girl finishes at a plod. Read full review

  • 40
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    Even by its own standards, the movie becomes increasingly macabre and ludicrous as Anne's machinations get the better of her, and everyone, including the audience, is left feeling shattered, shaken and vaguely unclean for having participated in all this. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Forced to compete for kingly favors, the women were soon rivals, a contest that, in its few meagerly entertaining moments, recalls the sisterly love in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Read full review

View more reviews for The Other Boleyn Girl on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Lush historical drama is engrossing but mature.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this historical romance/drama deals with mature themes like adultery, betrayal, and even incest. Still, there's a balance here: Characters who appear to value material comforts and power get their comeuppance, while those who display humility and conduct themselves with an inner compass appear to be spared. Although there are a number of implied sex acts and much discussion of adultery, surprisingly little is actually shown.
  • Families can talk about the accuracy of movies based on actual events. Do you think most historical movies are true to what actually happened? How can you find out? If a film does fudge the historical facts, how do you feel about that as a viewer? In general, is history a good source of inspiration? Families can also discuss the relationship between Anne and Mary. Why did two seemingly close sisters drift apart? Are they depicted as caricatures -- one bad, one good -- or are they fully formed characters?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Men and women commit adultery, scheme to get power, and trade sexual favors. Family members betray each other, people are killed (often for muddled reasons). That said, there appears to be a strong bond between the two sisters, and there's an underlying message of forgiveness.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Loud fights between couples (a woman slaps a man, for example), verbal confrontations, two beheadings (the actual act isn't shown, but in one scene, a bird's-eye view from far above shows a head next to a body), and a rape scene (not graphic, but the act is clearly implied).
  • sex false3 Sex: A couple is shown passionately kissing while presumably naked (the shot is close-up, so breasts and genitals aren't visible); a wife beds down with her husband while both are wearing nightgowns; a brother and sister discuss being physically intimate with each other; lots of talk of taking a mistress.
  • language false0 Language: Nothing really stronger than "whore," though the insults are biting.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some drinking at festivities.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

3.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

Bosoms heave, bodices rip … it ain't history. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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