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Herewith, a rant about a visual gaffe in the current cinema. On Friday's GuideLive cover, you'll see a large publicity photo of the stars of The Other Boleyn Girl (the same photo that's used in a movie ad inside the section). In the picture, Natalie Portman is at right, portraying Anne Boleyn. Natalie herself looks great -- but what she's wearing made me cringe. The gown and hairstyle are OK. It's the jewelry that isn't working. They have Anne Boleyn wearing a little pearl necklace with a big gold "B" hanging from it -- the like of which you might see in, say, a 21st-century Wal-mart. I seriously doubt you would have seen it anywhere in 16th-century England. A little cross or crucifix hanging from the pearl necklace, or a pearl pendant, perhaps? Those styles would be historically acceptable. The big gold "B" is so not. You might as well have Eric Bana sporting a Rolodex as Henry VIII, and Scarlett Johanssen as Mary Boleyn with an iPod plugged into her ears. |
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Comments
Posted by Holly @ 12:29 PM Fri, Feb 29, 2008
No, that's next year, when MTV Films remakes it, and sets it in college Greek life.
Posted by Shannon Sutlief @ 1:04 PM Fri, Feb 29, 2008
That necklace is based on one Anne Boleyn wore in an official portrait. Natalie Dormer, who plays Anne in Showtime's The Tudors, also wears it.
Here's the portrait: http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/boleynmainjpg.jpg
Posted by Lisa @ 2:50 PM Fri, Feb 29, 2008
The "B" necklace Anne wears is famous. Not only does it appear in an official portrait but many contempary writers comment on it and how it was one of her favorite pieces. A story is even told that she tried to wear it to her execution but was not allowed as it would get in the way of the axe.
Posted by Joyce Saenz Harris @ 3:03 PM Fri, Feb 29, 2008
OK, Shannon and Lisa, I'll concede that the necklace is not an anachronism. It's historically accurate, even.
It's still, however, appallingly modern in its sheer cheesiness.
Posted by K. Bowen @ 5:18 PM Mon, Mar 03, 2008
A question, I'm trying to remember the last little written parts at the end of the movie .... did it not strongly imply at least, and perhaps say outright, that Henry VIII did not produce a male heir. If so, that's historically inaccurate. At least the film mentions Bloody Mary in passing.