Taglines: Bow to no one.
Mary Queen of Scots Movie Storyline. Mary Queen of Scots explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart. Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I. Each young Queen beholds her “sister” in fear and fascination.
Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth’s sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones – and change the course of history.
Mary Queen of Scots is a 2018 historical drama film directed by Josie Rourke and written by Beau Willimon, based on John Guy’s biography Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Mary, Queen of Scots and Margot Robbie as her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, and chronicles the 1569 conflict between their two countries. Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, David Tennant, and Guy Pearce also star in supporting roles.
Mary Queen of Scots had its world premiere on closing night of AFI Fest on 15 November 2018, was released in the United States on 7 December 2018, and is scheduled to be in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2019. The film received generally favourable reviews, with praise for the performances (particularly Ronan and Robbie) and costumes, but was criticised for the screenplay and several historical inaccuracies.
The film received three nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards including the Best Supporting Actress (Robbie), Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup & Hair. For her performance, Robbie also earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Screen Actors Guild.
About the Story
In 1561, Mary (Ronan), Queen of Scotland, returns from France to her half-brother the Earl of Moray’s (McArdle) home in Scotland after her husband’s death. In England, her cousin, Elizabeth (Robbie) is the Queen of England – she is unmarried and has been unable to produce an heir, and is threatened by Mary’s potential claim to the throne. John Knox (Tennant), a Protestant cleric on Mary’s council, is incensed about a Catholic being in charge of the country and is rude, and so Mary has him removed from the council.
Elizabeth wants to control Mary and weaken her claim to the throne and thinks the best way to do this would be to marry her to an English citizen. She is in love with Robert Dudley (Alwyn) but decides to offer him to Mary. He protests, only wanting to be with her, but Elizabeth sends him anyway. However, once she meets with Dudley, Mary refuses to marry him, since he is just a citizen and not a royal – unless she is named the next in line to the English throne.
Elizabeth balks but is stricken with smallpox. Hearing of her impending death, Mary agrees to marry Dudley – once she is named the successor. Elizabeth, not genuinely wanting to let Dudley go, sends Lord Darnley (Lowden) to Scotland. He claims to only be there for the religious freedom, but Mary knows that can’t be true. He is charming, however, and their bond grows until eventually, he proposes.
Because Darnley is a lord, he actually strengthens Mary’s claim to the throne, and Elizabeth’s advisers tell her to put a stop to the marriage and send Dudley. Mary’s council itself is also suspicious of Darnley’s motives, assuming he wants to take over their country on behalf of England. The English come to Scotland and demand Darnley return to England, but Mary refuses, since she’s doing as asked and marrying an Englishman. This enrages Moray, who doesn’t want to go to war over his sister’s passion. He leaves the council, furious.
England supports Moray in a rebellion against Mary. Mary and Darnley marry, but the next morning Mary finds him in bed with her friend David Rizzio (Cruz Cordova). She is upset but has a rebellion to deal with. Rizzio goes to Mary, sorry and begging for forgiveness – Mary does indeed forgive him, saying they both fell for Darnley’s charms and that going forward they must be careful. Mary’s forces are able to quash the rebellion, and she spares Moray’s life. She then forces Darnley to have sex with her so that she can conceive an heir. When she announces her pregnancy, she declares the child the “heir to Scotland and England,” which naturally greatly offends the English.
Moray meets with Darnley’s father Matthew (Coyle) to hatch a plan to undermine Mary. A rumor starts that David is actually the father of Mary’s child and that she is an adulterer, which gives Knox fuel to preach to the Scottish that Mary is an evil woman. The under-miners meet with Darnley, telling him he needs to sign the bond of their plan to remove Rizzio.
He refuses, but his father warns him that in the public perception either he is the adulterer or Mary is – and this way no one needs to know of his homosexuality. He reluctantly signs. Mary, her handmaids, and Rizzio are playing games upstairs when the men burst in to execute Rizzio. Mary physically stands in the way but is unable to stop them as they stab Rizzio over and over, to her horror. Matthew insists Darnley deliver the killing blow.
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Directed by: Josie Rourke
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden, Angela Bain, Simon Russell Beale, Abby Cassidy, Shalisha James-Davis, Maria Dragus, Eileen O’Higgins, Greg Miller Burns
Screenplay by: Beau Willimon
Production Design by: James Merifield
Cinematography by: John Mathieson
Film Editing by: Chris Dickens
Costume Design by: Alexandra Byrne
Set Decoration by: Gina Cromwell
Art Direction by: Sophie Bridgman, Toby Britton, Todd Ellis, Gavin Fitch, Oliver Goodier, James Wakefield
Music by: Max Richter
Distributed by: Focus Features (United States), Universal Pictures (International)
Release Date: December 7, 2018 (United States), January 18, 2019 (United Kingdom)
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