A fascinating historical drama with a great cast, the 2018 remake MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS is centered around two powerful women and their place in history.
Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Brooklyn) is Mary Stuart, cousin to Queen Elizabeth I, played by Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad).
Queen of France at 16 years old and widowed by 18, Mary returns to Scotland and demands her throne, but her cousin Elizabeth reigns over Scotland.
Showing courage, intelligence and strategy, Mary proves herself capable of the throne, but she's buried under the political tradition and sexism of her right hand men.
Robbie and Ronan are both excellent, especially in the one scene they share together, cousins warring intelligently over power.
This is the second time that Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave have been cast as the same characters on screen. Vanessa Redgrave played Mary Stuart in ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (1971). She also played the older Briony Tallis in ''Atonement'' (2007); Saoirse Ronan played the younger Briony.
Sometimes as graphic and covered in mud as any "Game of Thrones" episode, it's far from a costume drama.
There is enough intrigue and betrayal to hold the interest of most non-history lovers and it's much more adult in tone than I anticipated.
Robbie has never looked so horrible on film, between the pox, filth and despair she deals with in every scene. She rules.
In reality, its rumored that these two never met, but their on-screen rendezvous is an entertaining history lesson driven by two powerful actresses, earning a B.
