"The Queen no longer bleeds..."

...and she somehow resembles Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (the Philippine president) when she speaks. Nevertheless, "The Other Boleyn Girl" is my second best movie of the year next to "The Dark Knight". Well, my top three are: (1) The Dark Knight, (2) The Other Boleyn Girl, and (3) Wanted, and nothing more... because those were the only flicks I've seen this year. :D

Image from www.dvdizzy.com

This film's plot is kick-ass. If one is not aware this is based on a novel, one would believe this is what really happened. Of course I researched about it in Wikipedia, but the article was too long it bored me. I don't know if Henry VIII really had a bastard son with the other Boleyn girl. No twists, but full of the most mundane of emotions that drive the characters' actions and their attitudes towards others.

Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is strong, cunning, and intelligent (only in the beginning), while Mary is naive and simple. For this, Portman overshadowed Johansson. However, I find that Johansson's portrayal of Mary brought out an exceptional actress in her. Anyway, if it was Portman, she would have done it all the same - but they would need to find a 'bitchier' actress than her to play the part of Anne. Since towards the end they somehow switched qualities (e.g. the other became weak, the other stronger), their acting styles were also swapped, so it evens them out.

I wonder why it only scored a measly 41% in Rotten Tomatoes?