If you’re looking to watch a historical period drama starring huge names — look no further than Mary Queen of Scots.
The 2018 film starring an unrecognisable Margot Robbie, along with the powerhouse that is Saoirse Ronan, is a lesson in costume design, hair and makeup, and beautiful sets. Nominated for Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, the film transports you right into 16th century England for two hours and four minutes.
Based on historian John Guy’s 2004 biography My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, the film was Josie Rourke’s directorial debut with a screenplay penned by Beau Willimon.
A stellar supporting cast featuring Guy Pearce, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, and David Tennant rounds out the star-studded film, however with a 62 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, the historical drama failed to meet the expectations of critics and audiences.
Although Mary Queen of Scots received three BAFTA nominations, including one for Margot Robbie in the Best Supporting Actress category, the period-piece wasn’t able to make its mark and was supposedly riddled with historical inaccuracies.
Scheduled to leave Netflix on May 16, Mary Queen of Scots grossed a dismal $46.4 million at the worldwide box-office. The film was originally supposed to see Scarlett Johansson in the lead, with shooting expected to begin in mid-2007 on a $25–30 million budget.
However, things didn’t go according to plan and the Black Widow actress dropped out, effectively casting the movie into development hell, where it languished for several years, until August 2012, when Saoirse Ronan was announced as the new Mary Stuart.
It took five more laborious years for any real progress to be made on the project, until April 2017 — when it was finally announced that Margot Robbie would be stepping into the shoes of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary’s first cousin once-removed. Filming then began in August that year, and the movie eventually hit cinema screens on December 7, 2018 (January 18, 2019, for the United Kingdom).
Critics were not impressed, with one saying: “Sadly, most of Mary Queen of Scots leans towards the drab and the pedestrian,” while another wrote: “It is lifeless, in other words, and quite the slog, with jerky pacing, such an abundance of bearded men you lose track of which bearded man is which, and it reduces two of history’s most fascinating women to not much of anything.”
One review of the film read: “Mary Queen of Scots is a tawdry soap opera that insists it’s an intelligent political thriller,” while another critic wrote: “What’s mysterious about this film is why, with so much on its mind and such gifted stars to express it, the drama should be so unaffecting.”
Audience reviews were no better, with one viewer writing: “Had so looked forward to this because too few historical dramas reach the big screen these days. But what a disappointment. I could’ve forgiven the agenda-driven casting had the dialogue and plot been at least a bit historical or interesting. Not even a hint of Mary’s complexities such as her involvement in plotting against Elizabeth and Elizabeth herself being portrayed as a caricature.”
Another viewer said: “The great actors can’t make up for the untrue and uncomfortable take on history.”
One detailed review added: “I cannot give this no stars unfortunately. Painfully miscast – even those who have no interest in History would see that the actress playing Mary looked like Elizabeth and vice versa. I understand that not everything can be historically accurate for the sake of entertainment and creativity- but this is beyond that.
“Saturated with woke imagery and agendas, this is not entertainment just blatant and stale pushing of meaningless points. Disappointed to see Guy Pierce involved here – he must regret it – apart from the Paycheck I suppose. Do not waste time on this. It’s the worst movie of any genre I have ever seen.”
Mary Queen of Scots is available to stream on Netflix till May 15.