Film
The Other Boleyn Girl
A lavish Tudor drama where two sisters compete for Henry VIII's affections and power. Portman and Johansson lead a handsome cast through family machinations, court intrigue, and the cost of ambition. It's gorgeous to watch, emotionally immediate, and makes history feel urgent—even if it takes considerable liberties with what actually happened.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like period stories where power sits in family politics and whispered bargains, and you enjoy watching ambition play out in candlelit rooms and bedchambers more than on battlefields.
Skip it if you want history handled with restraint, because this leans into lush, melodramatic romance and can feel more soap than chronicle.
What it asks of you: It runs just under two hours and takes its time, letting scenes of glances, letters and plotting build slowly, so attention pays off more than speed does.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Elizabeth1998
Cate Blanchett's definitive Elizabeth I, with the same period grandeur and political scheming. Gorgeous cinematography, intelligent script, and a queen navigating the same treacherous waters from the other side of history.
But Slower and more austere than The Other Boleyn Girl. Less romance, more boardroom drama. If you want sweep and passion, this is more cerebral.
The Favourite2018
Two women vying for a monarch's love and influence, but deliberately absurdist and darkly comedic. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are magnetic. It scratches the same competitive ambition itch with far more personality and invention.
But Tonally it's a different film—camp and grotesque rather than romantic. If you want straight drama, the tonal whiplash might feel jarring.
Wolf Hall2015
Multipart drama about Thomas Cromwell rising through Henry's court. Same king, same world, but told from the perspective of a man orchestrating the Boleyns' tragedy. Subtle, sophisticated, utterly gripping.
But Henry VIII is less of a romantic lead and more a volatile tyrant. It's darker and more politically dense. If you're here for swoon, prepare to be unsettled instead.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Other Boleyn Girl
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Anna Karenina2012
Both examine women destroyed by desire in rigid hierarchies, told through sumptuous visual language that turns suffering into spectacle.
Joe Wright's version uses a stage-within-a-stage conceit with dazzling visual language. Like The Other Boleyn Girl, it's about a woman whose passion and ambition destroy her, trapped in a society that demands her submission. The tragedy is the same—just Russian aristocracy instead of Tudor court.
But Not historical drama; it's a literary adaptation about 19th-century Russia. Abstract and theatrical rather than grounded. Long, emotionally exhausting, and Tolstoy's ending is merciless.
More like this (4)
Mary Queen of Scots2018
Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as warring queens. Same visual lushness as The Other Boleyn Girl with better pacing. Female ambition, male power, gorgeous costumes, and genuine stakes throughout.
But Involves a lot of Scottish politics that can feel detached. Less intimate romance than the Boleyns' story. Some find the colour grading and modern tone distracting.
The Tudors2007
HBO series about Henry VIII himself, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a compelling, volatile king. Covers the Boleyn era and beyond with sex, violence, and political intrigue. Addictively watchable for six seasons.
But Extremely loose with history and increasingly melodramatic. Heavy on the sensational elements. If you want accuracy or subtle storytelling, this swings the other direction entirely.
A Man for All Seasons1966
Paul Scofield as Thomas More resisting Henry VIII. Same historical moment but focused on conscience and principle rather than ambition. Intellectually rigorous, beautifully made, and genuinely moving about the cost of conviction.
But Black-and-white and formal. No romance, no spectacle. If you watch period drama for visual immersion and passion, this is austere and deliberately theatrical.
Macbeth2015
Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in Shakespeare's tragedy of ambition, blood, and power. Same psychological machinery as the Boleyns—two people driven by hunger climbing over bodies. Visually stunning and deeply unsettling.
But It's Shakespeare and genuinely dark. Not a comfort watch. If you want historical grounding or romance, this is mythology and horror instead.
People
Cast
Natalie PortmanAnne Boleyn
Scarlett JohanssonMary Boleyn
Eric BanaHenry Tudor
Jim SturgessGeorge Boleyn
Mark RylanceSir Thomas Boleyn
Kristin Scott ThomasLady Elizabeth Boleyn
David MorrisseyThomas Howard - Duke of Norfolk
Benedict CumberbatchWilliam Carey
Oliver ColemanHenry Percy
Ana TorrentKatherine of Aragon
Eddie RedmayneWilliam Stafford
Juno TempleJane Parker
Directing
- Justin ChadwickDirector
- Deborah SabanFirst Assistant Director
- Jayne SpoonerScript Supervisor
- Olivia LloydSecond Assistant Director
- Samar PollittSecond Second Assistant Director
- Alex OakleySecond Unit First Assistant Director
- Bryn LawrenceThird Assistant Director
- Paul BennettThird Assistant Director
Writing
- Philippa GregoryNovel
- Peter MorganScreenplay
- Andrew DaviesScript Consultant
- Mona QureshiScript Editor
Production
- Faye WardAssociate Producer
- Karen Lindsay-StewartCasting
- Mark CooperCo-Producer
- David M. ThompsonExecutive Producer
- Scott RudinExecutive Producer
- Ilenka JelowickiExtras Casting
- Jane RobertsonLine Producer
- Hannah GodwinPost Production Coordinator
- Alison OwenProducer
- Francesca CastellanoProduction Coordinator
- Mally ChungUnit Manager
- Rachel NealeUnit Production Manager
Recommended by
Wide Sargasso Sea, Mary Queen of Scots, Dangerous Beauty, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Anne of the Thousand Days, Anonymous, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Mary of Scotland, The Spanish Princess, Sarah's Key, The White Princess, Padmaavat, The Virgin Queen, Flowers in the Attic, Ascendancy, Lady Jane, Henry VIII and His Six Wives, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII