ISBN 0-7432-2744-1So I'm sitting in a movie theatre about a month ago, only sort of paying attention to the previews, when suddenly Natalie Portman appears on screen. I'm immediately enthralled. Then Scarlett Johansson appears on screen with Natalie. Now I'm doubly enthralled. Then Eric Bana appears on screen with Natalie and Scarlett and I'm completely out of my mind. If this film dedicates two hours to watching water boil, so long as Eric, Natalie, and Scarlett are there to watch it boil with me, I'll see it. Probably multiple times. Like in the real theatre. Not even waiting until the $1 Cinemark.
I called my mother after the movie, knowing she's an Eric Bana fan, to gush about this salacious preview. She informed me that not only is she way ahead of me, but even my grandmother is way ahead of me. Apparently "The Other Boleyn Girl" is an historical fiction novel by Phillipa Gregory, a novel read by my grandmother a year ago and my mother's book club six months ago. News to me. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie and so I picked up my own copy...and then read it in one week flat. One week. 661 pages. I actually called in sick and took a day off work to finish the book. I Could Not Put It Down.The historical framework of Gregory's novel is entirely accurate and the story itself is nothing new. I assume most people are familiar with Henry VIII, Katharine of Aragon, the Boleyn daughters each taking their turn vying for power via the king's bed, English Reformation, all the sex and scandal, Anne's beheading, et.al. What Gregory does, and where the fiction comes in, is weave dialogue and pedestrian details into the story we all know (ie: she researched the nuances of the English Court and you get a very visceral sense of daily life). Well done.
With regard to the film adaptation, Peter Morgan wrote the screenplay and he's best known for The Queen and The Last King of Scotland. Fan-tas-tic! I'm stoked. The film opens Friday, 29 February. Two weeks. More than enough time for you to read this page-turner!
