MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

Margot Robbie     Saoirse Ronan     David Tennant     Guy Pearce     Jack Lowden

Joe Alwyn     Brendan Coyle     Martin Compston     James McArdle

     The movie reflects the views of historian John Guy in his book, My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, which departs from previous historical accounts that were more critical of Mary and her leadership, but nevertheless won the 2004 Whitbread prize for biography.  In this version of history, Mary was betrayed numerous times, ending with her beheading by order of Queen Elizabeth I of England.  Whether it is regarded as historical truth or a biased perspective, I’m not one to judge; but as a movie it is fascinating, and contains more than a kernel of truth about human nature and the willingness to stop at nothing in the interest of personal ambitions.  Beau Willimon’s (of HBO’s “House of Cards” fame) screenplay brings excitement, suspense, and a realistic(?) view of political intrigue. As much as one can rely on Guy’s accounts, the viewer will feel better informed about   English-Scottish conflict, particularly as relates to Mary, Queen of Scots.

     Whether factual and intended, or simply a reflection of male-female relationships in general, the movie illustrates the difficulties many men have when women are in power.  In this case, both queens rely heavily on male advisors who may or may not have their superior’s best interest in mind.  It seems that men in both realms have their own agendas—which always seem to include weakening of the female power to be replaced by a male authority.

     Both queens are pressured to produce a male (or secondarily a female) heir to the throne. Elizabeth, who identifies with men, refuses to marry (because she can’t find a man willing to be a wife) and remains single throughout her life, despite her chief minister’s urging to find a mate.  There are rather comical scenes when she sends Robert Dudley, her favorite advisor whom she is sweet on, to woo Mary, as an ultimate plan to control Scotland; but Mary sends him back to England, and he is a pawn for a time after that.

     Mary takes matters into her own hands, and when the first seducer comes courting, she makes sure she will bear a child.  Unfortunately, he is Lord Darnley, a man of weak character dominated by an ambitious father, who will have undue influence on him against Mary. Nevertheless, she does get pregnant and bears a son she names James, after her father and an uncle.

     Major unrest and military encounters ensue through the years, with one side or the other winning, and always planned and executed by the men surrounding the queens.  In this account, Mary comes across as a strong military leader as well as one with sound principles (she is accepting of both Protestants and Catholics, a bitter divide at the time) and astute political sensibilities, as attested to by Queen Elizabeth herself.  Her pleas with Queen Elizabeth are eloquent, but unfortunately may be followed by what appears to Elizabeth to be insubordination.  

     The work of Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie are both award-worthy performances. Each captures her character’s essential elements and makes us forget the actress and “believe” in the character. They “own” this film so much that even though we get strong performances from Guy Pearce and other actors, it is really Ronan’s and Robbie’s film.  

     Kudos to Beau Willimon for the script, Max Richter for the music, James Merifield for production design, and John Mathieson for cinematography. Director Josie Rourke shows talent in this her first major film to helm, I will be looking for her work in the future.

History is presented as the amazing drama it so often actually is.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

FERDINAND

Voices of:  John Cena     Jeremy Sisto     Bobby Cannavale     Lily Day     Juanes

Jerrod Carmichael     Kate McKinnon     Anthony Anderson     Peyton Manning    

David Tennant     Carlos Saldanha     Miguel Angel Silvestre

     How do you tell a story about a pacifist bull?  Well, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Director Carlos Saldanha do just that, based on a book by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson.  We don’t know why Ferdinand (Cena) doesn’t want to fight; his father is a champion bull, but Ferdinand likes to smell the flowers—literally!  He is teased unmercifully by his peers, especially Valiente (Cannavale), a barnyard bully.  But Ferdinand is smart, and when it looks like he is going to be chosen to go to the arena for a fight, he bolts (no easy task, since the bull pen is highly secure). 

     I won’t say how he gets away, which is part of the fun, but he ends up on a ranch owned by Juan (Juanes), who indulges his daughter Nina (Day) in keeping as many pets as she wants.  She falls in love with Ferdinand, and they become fast friends.  He is SO happy with Nina and her father, smelling dozens of flowers on the countryside as he roams wherever he wants, and only has to contend with the testy Paco (Carmichael) the dog who is feeling like his special place has been usurped.  Ferdinand is fed and treated well at the ranch and grows to be “a beast” of a bull.

     All would have been fine ever after, but Ferdinand sees no reason why he can’t accompany his new family to the annual flower market in the city.  Juan says it is not a good place for Ferdinand, and he is left behind.  Alas, he argues with himself about complying with his owner’s wishes, but ultimately decides he should go to the festival.  Once there, he is so enthralled by all the flowers, he makes some bad decisions, and thereafter the festival becomes truly like “a bull in a china closet”, because his appearance terrifies people, and in trying to get away, he upsets more than one apple cart.

     This escape costs him greatly, and he finds himself once again in la Casa del Toro where bulls are trained and from where Ferdinand had just run away.  Now, we see the more mature Ferdinand taking a leadership role in trying to persuade his fellow bulls why they should resist going to the bullring.  These sequences are good for children to see how political positions are reasoned out based on observed facts. 

     After this, the story devolves into the contemporary popular car-bus-train chase.  (Every exciting film has to have a car chase, right?)  I didn’t get the impression the children in the audience were as fascinated by this as were/are filmmakers, but this goes on for a significant number of minutes in the film.

     When the story finally gets back to the basic idea of the film, it ends on stirring moments when the concept of/reason for pacifism is shown very clearly, both in the evidence about what actually happens at bull fights, and what can go on in the ring when a bull doesn’t want to fight.  It ends in a way that preserves everyone’s pride.

     Ferdinand has some very clever, funny scenes (e.g., a dance contest, of all things, between the Germanic sounding, haughty horses and the inhabitants of the barnyard at Casa del Toro), and some lines tossed out for adults in the audience (e.g., “Let’s try to Haagen-Das (hug) it out”, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t giddy-up”, and a reference to re-gifting.)  But most of its value is in modeling for children a) how to make decisions about whether to fight or not to fight; and b) showing that bravery can be shown by leadership just as much as by muscle.  Related to that, it shows how maturing in a loving atmosphere is strengthening.

This is about a brave bull who had good reasons for not going into the bullring.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland