In 1533, King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) divorced his wife, Queen Catherine, and married a young girl in his court named Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman). Historians still debate the influence Anne and her family had in the king’s decision… did they orchestrate the divorce? Was the King of England a pawn to Boleyn ambition, or was Anne attempting to gain some control over a situation that had been disastrous for so many girls before her?

One girl in particular served as example of the fate a monarchical mistress could expect: Mary, Anne’s sister, The Other Boleyn Girl. In most Henry VIII biographies, Mary (Scarlett Johansson) gets little more than a line designating her the sexual conquest who came after Bessie Blount and before her sister. Phillipa Gregory, however, uses Mary as a character study, exploring these historical proceedings through the lens of this forgotten sister.

The movie dramatizes Phillipa Gregory’s bestselling novel, adhering to the plot admirably considering the reduction of a 600 page novel to a 2 hour movie. Mary’s perspective affords a fascinating glimpse into the sexual politics surrounding Tudor women, but this necessarily truncates the larger historical perspective. The dissolution of the Catholic Church in favor of the Church of England (the largest outcome of the divorce) occurs so swiftly that the audience may miss it altogether.

A warning: while rated PG-13, the subject matter of this film is entirely adult in nature. These historical figures exemplify the dark nature of passion. Expect prostitution, adultery, rape and incest, not romance. The cinematography reflects the subject matter, showing us historical events through a dim, often obscured lens. Expect a film dark in subject and color, reflective of the history it portrays. Want more history? Try two film classics: Anne of the Thousand Days and A Man for All Seasons.