Mary Queen of Scots

There's no shortage of material to work with from the real life of Mary - stormy marriages, religious disputes, war and insurrection, murdered on the orders of her own cousin - so it's no surprise that writer Beau Willimon and director Josie Rourke have created a very entertaining drama that resonates with many of today's issues.

The young Mary (Saoirse Ronan) returns from exile in France to take up her role as monarch from the regent, her half brother James (James McArdle).  A mix of entitlement, capriciousness and youthful exuberance, she is determined to be her own person, a dangerous stance for a catholic in strongly protestant country.  She quickly makes enemies, like the rabidly calvinist and fanatically misogynist John Knox (David Tennant), many amongst her senior nobles, and, most ominously, her cousin Elizabeth (Margot Robbie, the queen of England.  Elizabeth listens largely to the cautious council of Cecil (Guy Pearce), but there are many voices advocating a strategy to bring Scotland under English control, and the diplomacy between the two queens becomes murky and confused.

Mary makes some poor choices in her selection of confidantes and, crucially, husbands.  Marriage to the Englishman Darnley (Jack Lowden) manages to offend both the Scottish and English courts and proves personally disastrous too.  A series of rebellions see Mary outcast to England to seek her cousin's protection, which is granted at first but will lead to Elizabeth ordering her death.

It's a rollicking tale, with plenty of action, drama and human interest, and largely stands up well as an entertainment.  Although there's a glaring false note in the meeting of the two queens (which never took place in real life), which is stagey and overly theatrical, to the point it feels like it belongs in a different film.  Overall the storyline reflects many of the true events in Mary's life, but with some interesting interpretations of some of the characters, especially the relationship between Darnley and Rizzio.  But as a history lesson it fares better than a lot of Hollywood's output.

The performances are excellent, with Ronan giving Mary a depth of strength underlying her carefree behaviour and embattled position.  And a special mention to Tennant, almost unrecognisable behind the Knoxian beard.

Of greatest interest is what it says about today's world.  For all their mutual flaws the two queens emerge as strong feminist role models, fighting for their position in a strongly patriarchal world.  While the relationship between England and Scotland is a reflection of today, with the predatory neighbour taking every opportunity to control and exploit their northern partner.  As such theis movie might be even more of a shop window for Indy than Outlaw King proved.