The Other Boleyn Girl (2003)

Seen on 27-7-2009 - HBO movie
Cast: Jodhi May (Anne Boleyn)
Natascha McElhone (Mary Boleyn)
Jared Harris (Henry VIII)
Dir.: Philippa Lawthorpe
Writer: Philippa Gregory'best-selling novel
This 2003 BBC production, based on Philippa Gregory's novel, is said to be vastly superior to the 2008 version in spite of the later's opulent production values. This is because of its documentary format.
The story of Anne Bolyen (1507-1536), the mother of future Elizabeth I, has seized popular imagination as the one with whom English Reformation began, for it was because of her that Henry VIII boldly defied Rome in order to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne who, unlike her sister Mary refused to be the King's mistress. Anne was subsequently beheaded for adultery and incest, of which she is said to be guilty on the novel's showing, although some historians dispute this.
The film reconstructs the sequence of events that lead to the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn and highlights the strength of her character in winning the king's attention and in refusing to be her mistress. Giving birth to a girl child, Elizabeth (the future queen of England), she falls out of favor with the King. Consequently in her desperation and boldness she commits incest with her brother in order to secretly produce a male heir to the throne. The film also captures the events of her sister Mary's unhappiness in her love of the King who cast her aside in favor of her sister Anne. The circumstances that lead her subsequently to settle for the love of a nondescript courtier are convincingly portrayed. The final scenes of Anne's execution put her in a sympathetic light.
The film is convincing.