Because
of: sexual content, brief nudity, thematic
elements
Rated:
He was known
for two things: his lust for women and his notorious beheading of two of
his wives. King Henry VIII is one of the most infamous "bloody"
monarchs in England's history. What is written about him is scandalous,
and that makes an excellent place to begin for any self-respecting
novelist or filmmaker. Unfortunately, this one is heavy on romance and scant
on actual details, but nevertheless is it a diverting way to spend three
hours.
The one vow
Henry made to his father on his deathbed that when he became king, he
would produce an heir that would continue the magnificent Tudor line in
the monarchy. Forced into marriage to his dead brother's wife Katherine (Assumpta
Serna) in order to prevent war with her native Spain, he hopes and waits
for the son he has always wanted, but she cannot but bear him deceased
babies, with the exception of one child, a daughter, Mary. A womanizer
accustomed to having his way with all of the women of the court, Henry
(Ray Winstone) turns his attention to the beautiful and unreachable Anne
Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter), who is soon to be married to a man beneath
her station. Giving his friend and fellow conspirator Cardinal Wolsey
(David Suchet) the task of preventing the alliance and assisting him into
winning over Anne, Henry finds it difficult to win her favor after
encouraging her fiancé to marry elsewhere.
Determined not
to wind up like her older sister, pregnant with the king's child, Anne
refuses to come to his bedchamber until he makes her queen. Desperate for
the heir she promises can be got for him, Henry controversially seeks to
have his marriage to Queen Katherine annulled. But once his marriage to
Anne is finalized and she cannot produce the heir he so desires, he will
go through a succession of whirlwind romances and desperate attempts to
secure England with the Tudor name. Among his wives will be the quiet and
virtuous Jane Seymour (Emilia Fox), the outcast Anne of Cleaves (Pia
Girard), the violently temperamental Katherine Howard (Emily Blunt), and
the devoted Katherine Parr (Clare Holman). In the end, Henry will have his
son, little knowing that it is Anne Boleyn's daughter who will ultimately
take the throne.
Many things
weigh in both for and against this lavish production, namely that there is
such a good cast list despite its numerous historical inaccuracies, and it
does paint a more realistic and likable image of the monarch than most
films are prone to do. Henry manages to win you over with his childish
determination despite his dreadful behavior, and I was quite fond of him
up until about halfway through the first installment, when he did
something so terrible I could never forgive him. The actor has been
critiqued for being all wrong for the part, but my judgment is less biased
than most, and I found him quite delightful. His leading cast of ladies
were wonderful as well, although as much as I like Helena, the fact that
she was pregnant during filming was all too painfully obvious, not to
mention that she's quite a bit older than Anne should have been.
Content varies
from surprising restraint in some aspects and shocking detail in others.
There is quite a bit of warfare and blood, since some early scenes take
place during a battle against power-hungry traitors seeking to take the
crown. Executions are carried out without us seeing the actual stroke of
the sword or axe, although a surprising amount of blood spatters across
the faces of bystanders. A freshly decapitated head is held aloft for the
crowd to jeer at. A traitor is first attacked and stabbed, then hung
drenched in blood to die out in the sun over the side of the castle. The most disturbing act of violence is Henry, in a
fit of rage, raping one of his wives. I was shocked not only with the
scene itself, but how long it seemed to last. (The one redeeming aspect is
that on the DVD, you can see it coming and skip to the next scene without
missing any plot points.)
Much is made
of the king wishing to bed Anne. There are various sexual innuendos and
mild fits of dialogue, as well as a sex scene immediately following the
wedding (a shot of her bare back is shown, along with movement). The
king's bare backside is briefly shown when he dives into a pond. One
of his promiscuous wives is shown in her younger years as having a lover;
sexual movement is included before they hear someone coming. A man pulls
off a woman's gown, revealing her breasts to the audience in order to see
if she's "worthy" of being the next potential queen. Henry is
unable to consummate a marriage; dialogue reveals how humiliated he is.
Katherine is involved in an adulterous relationship, which is hinted at
but never graphically depicted.
What I liked
about the production is that it followed all of the wives with reverence,
but it also left out a great deal of important plot matter. In all
actuality, it would have been a far better six-episode mini-series than a
two-part series, since there's such a wealth of history that could have been
used to further fill out the missing pieces. For example, I appreciated
that Jane made reference to bringing both of her stepdaughters back to
court for reconciliation with their father, but they left out the fact
that Anne Boleyn was framed through blackmail and murder, as well as the
fact that she was the principle instigator of Henry's first divorce; this
film made it seem as though the annulment had been considered for some
time. That being said, it does get under your skin enough to make you want
to see it a second time, if only to ponder the ultimate tragedy of Henry
and his unfortunate wives.
HENRY
VIII
Determined not
to wind up like her older sister, pregnant with the king's child, Anne
refuses to come to his bedchamber until he makes her queen. Desperate for
the heir she promises can be got for him, Henry controversially seeks to
have his marriage to Queen Katherine annulled. But once his marriage to
Anne is finalized and she cannot produce the heir he so desires, he will
go through a succession of whirlwind romances and desperate attempts to
secure England with the Tudor name. Among his wives will be the quiet and
virtuous Jane Seymour (Emilia Fox), the outcast Anne of Cleaves (Pia
Girard), the violently temperamental Katherine Howard (Emily Blunt), and
the devoted Katherine Parr (Clare Holman). In the end, Henry will have his
son, little knowing that it is Anne Boleyn's daughter who will ultimately
take the throne.
Content varies
from surprising restraint in some aspects and shocking detail in others.
There is quite a bit of warfare and blood, since some early scenes take
place during a battle against power-hungry traitors seeking to take the
crown. Executions are carried out without us seeing the actual stroke of
the sword or axe, although a surprising amount of blood spatters across
the faces of bystanders. A freshly decapitated head is held aloft for the
crowd to jeer at. A traitor is first attacked and stabbed, then hung
drenched in blood to die out in the sun over the side of the castle. The most disturbing act of violence is Henry, in a
fit of rage, raping one of his wives. I was shocked not only with the
scene itself, but how long it seemed to last. (The one redeeming aspect is
that on the DVD, you can see it coming and skip to the next scene without
missing any plot points.)
What I liked
about the production is that it followed all of the wives with reverence,
but it also left out a great deal of important plot matter. In all
actuality, it would have been a far better six-episode mini-series than a
two-part series, since there's such a wealth of history that could have been
used to further fill out the missing pieces. For example, I appreciated
that Jane made reference to bringing both of her stepdaughters back to
court for reconciliation with their father, but they left out the fact
that Anne Boleyn was framed through blackmail and murder, as well as the
fact that she was the principle instigator of Henry's first divorce; this
film made it seem as though the annulment had been considered for some
time. That being said, it does get under your skin enough to make you want
to see it a second time, if only to ponder the ultimate tragedy of Henry
and his unfortunate wives.