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The Boleyn Saga
By
Kenneth Holm
Dorkgasm Senior Staff Writer

            Well, I just returned from seeing the newest cinematic period piece The Other Boleyn Girl. Was it pretty? Absolutely. Was it good? Well, I have to agree with many people who said it could have been better. I, unfortunately, am in a position of unenviable bad luck. Like most movies that I know are based upon a book, I read the book in advance. One of these days, I'm going to learn to stop doing that.

            The Other Boleyn Girl is based upon the novel of the same name by Phillipa Gregory, who has authored other historical fiction books, including the sequel to this one,
The Boleyn Inheritance. Her prose is involving, descriptive, and totally addicting. She wove a tale that was politically intriguing, romantic at its core, and completely believable. At least about as much as one can believe something that is written from a fictional point of view. However, there were several differences, including some important omissions, that I feel it necessary to draw your attention to them.

            Firstly, and most incredibly, the movie purports Anne Boleyn to be the eldest sister of the family. Unfortunately, both the book and history seem to agree that Mary was the elder of the two. It would seem that the only reason this was an issue in the story is that the filmmakers wanted Anne to feel entitled to King Henry's love because she was eldest. There was never a first meeting between Anne and the King that went badly in the book. Why they decided to add this in is beyond me completely. However, after Mary Boleyn found herself pregnant with Henry's progeny, the movie did manage to redeem itself by somewhat following the rest of the established storyline.

            Another way the book and movie differ is their portrayals of Catherine of Aragon, the wife of Henry VIII. Catherine is one of the most tragic figures in history, and the movie completely glossed over her with but a couple interesting bon mots tossed toward the two sisters. However, in the book, Catherine is fully aware of what is happening and why it is so. There are chapters upon chapters that were written about Catherine fighting tooth and nail to save her marriage, even going so far as to almost cause war. The political intrigue alone of this character should have been somewhat salvaged, as it could have made this movie so much more watchable than it currently is.

            The final glaring difference I want to point out is about George, Anne's brother. I am sure that Jim Sturgess of Across The Universe fame is a wonderful actor, but the character of George was totally off from the portrayal from the book. In the book, George is not only a willing participant in the schemes of his sister Anne, but he is one of the chief schemers. Also in the book, but absent from the movie, is the ascertain that George is homosexual. While George being a poof does not really matter too much, it does make the lengths that he and Anne finally resort to much more emotional. Before you ask, in the book George and his sister Anne do bump uglies, resulting in a “monster-baby” that I had hoped would have found its way into the film. I could continue to go on and on about the differences between the book and movie, such as the total lack of Cardinal Wolsey in the movie, but I will not. Instead, I will look at yet another chronicle of the life of Anne Boleyn. It is a little series on Showtime called The Tudors.

            This series looks at much of the same time period as the book and movie The Other Boleyn Girl do. Henry VIII is still raging about his lack of child from Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn still appears to give him a hard time. However, this is where the similarities end. Catherine is a much more important character in this show, while Mary is introduced in one episode and never seen again. However, it is with the other characters where the stories begin to pick up. Cardinal Wolsey, Henry's trusted mentor, is quite a major turning point in this show, as is his zealot-like advisor Sir Thomas More. Both characters serve to enrich the setting and plot, which can best be described as “History for the Attention Deficit Individual”. Now that I have lain bare the differences, let us have a look at who does what better.

The Story:
Well, the movie version of The Other Boleyn Girl is right out. I felt that there was a lot of unnecessary dialogue and not enough emotional punch to make it work completely. The Tudors has a slightly better story, but it is needlessly fleshed out to its maximum extent. Granted, it is an ongoing show and that is one of necessities for longevity. So, without further ado, I proclaim the book version of The Other Boleyn Girl the winner. The book was really quite long, but it was never boring.

The Actors:
Well, since the book has no actors, it is out of the running for this category. However, the movie version of The Other Boleyn Girl does have them, and they all pretty much suck. Eric Bana's Henry VIII was a bit fierce, but ultimately pathetic. The Boleyn sisters had no emotional depth whatsoever, and the whole supporting cast would have been better if they had pulled them from the Bristol Renaissance Faire. However, The Tudors, while not completely accurate historically, is the superb cast. Jonathan Rhys-Myers plays a spoiled and pissy Henry VIII, which is pretty damn close to what he was supposedly like. Sam Neil's Cardinal Wolsey is the perfect foil to Natalie Dormer's scheming Anne Boleyn. Even Jeremy Northram's Sir Thomas More simmers with intensity. Truly superb.

Accuracy:
When something like this is written for entertainment purposes, several facts are usually adjusted for the enthrallment factor. While both versions of The Other Boleyn Girl and The Tudors tend to... expand upon the existing facts, I personally believe that The Tudors is the more accurate out of the three. It has most of the major players of the time, the major characters seem to be portrayed as they were in life, and the costumes appear to be period accurate, if not a bit too colorful.

My Recommendation:
Well, if it is not abundantly apparent to you by this juncture, I would suggest that you read The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory and watch The Tudors on Showtime. Both are exceptionally entertaining, even if they do play it fast and loose with the facts. By all means, ignore the filmed version of The Other Boleyn Girl until after you have read the book. If you have done that, then go ahead and watch the movie. You'll have as much fun as The Wife and I did when we saw it. We laughed and pointed out the newest fabrications and generally had more fun doing this than watching the actual movie. Tread with film carefully, but cable and prose provide the best rewards.