What’s fascinating about The Other Boleyn Girl’s crafty premise is that it contains brilliant, involving notes of eroticism. Using well-known historical figures, Chadwick could’ve easily manipulated Morgan’s screenplay to form an intimate, steamy, and thoughtful reflection on sexuality. Unfortunately, the young director seems so caught up in portraying history accurately that he ignores the fact that his story presents this wonderful opportunity. Sure, he can be credited for exploring Anne and Mary’s attempt to carry out family expectations and the ensuing devious exploration of the darkness of human relationships. However, Chadwick never openly recognizes the ornate eroticism found in the screenplay; he side-skirts it for the sake of painting a prettier picture. The result is a perfectly nice little creation, but not one that provokes much thought about history (or filmmaking, for that matter). What’s entirely ironic about the end-product is that, according to experts, it’s full of factual inaccuracies. Had Chadwick told a work of pure fiction featuring the same characters, The Other Boleyn Girl wouldn’t have been any more scrutinized for its historical embellishments.

     Despite its dismayingly underdeveloped potential, The Other Boleyn Girl still breathes some life. This is mainly due to the fantastic performances of its always-reliable stars, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Within Chadwick’s restrained style, the actresses are able to erk out every inch of sexuality that their director allowed them to, tapping into the material’s true themes far more than actresses of a lesser caliber could have. In fact, Portman and Johansson even gain the emotional investment of viewers, a fine accomplishment given the utter sterility of the picture. By the time Anne’s head finds itself in the line of a history-making blade, all audience members will be compelled by the material, no matter what their reaction to the rest of the picture. In this very achievement, The Other Boleyn Girl proves itself to be worth something.