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The Other Boleyn Girl

Play trailer Poster for The Other Boleyn Girl PG-13 2008 1h 55m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
43% Tomatometer 146 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) lacks an heir. Seeing this as an opportunity for personal gain, the Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey) and Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance) persuade Thomas' daughter Anne (Natalie Portman) to seduce the king. But Henry falls in love with Anne's sister, Mary (Scarlett Johansson), instead. When Mary becomes pregnant, she's confined to bed, with charged with Anne keeping the king from straying -- but the plan backfires when Anne seeks the king's affections for herself.

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The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl

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Critics Consensus

Though it features some extravagant and entertaining moments, The Other Boleyn Girl feels more like a soap opera than historical drama.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 04/09/2021
4/5
A hoot. Go to Full Review Deborah Ross The Spectator 08/23/2018
This is cliché heaped on cliché and hopelessly artificial. Go to Full Review David Ansen Newsweek 02/01/2018
... loses steam when the catfighting abruptly gives way to grim realpolitik. Go to Full Review Martin Tsai New York Sun 04/21/2023
The film is marginally enjoyable in that sort of sleazy Jerry Springer fashion, but the filmmakers aren’t making a compelling case here for why their artistic license is necessarily more amusing or insightful than history itself. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 11/28/2020
3/10
The concept of despicable people doing contemptible things never really leads to solid entertainment. Go to Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com 09/19/2020
2.5/4.0
Largely carried by Portman's stellar performance. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Mihad K. @Mihad Apr 3 Weird movie name as they focus on Anne i thought this about mary but it's alright movie...great costumes Two huge actress for this movie was too much ,seeing Scarlett feel awkward in this movie idk didn't fit in some how, Natalie was good though nailed it ..wasted two talents in this movie. I will not rewatch 100%. See more Gordon M. @gordumb Mar 14 Lustful king makes things harder than they need to be. See more Daniel M @MazzaQuePasa Oct 1 I definitely never expected to like this movie as much as I did. Amazing performances by Johansson and Portman with a really good cast as well. Probably one of the most messed up and tragic love stories I’ve ever seen. See more David D @David2026 03/07/2025 A regularly told tale. Here it is told well with a great cast delivering performances that are trying to keep pace given the squeezing of so much into such a relatively short time frame. Yes, it takes liberties with the original story...but how else do you retell. Certainly worth a watch. See more binta s @RT57298800 03/07/2025 Very good acting from both Portman and Johanssen. An overall good watch. No periodically sound but the execution was very good See more Mons G @RT67623792 03/06/2025 Says "costume drama" on the label but comes across as a histo-exploitation thriller. Some of the actors, e.g. Rylance, Johansson and Scott-Thomas provide a modicum of quality and the set designs are uniformly excellent but it's all dragged down by some weak acting (Portman, Bana) and join-the-dots historical narrative. This has an all-star cast but few star performances. See more Read all reviews
The Other Boleyn Girl

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Cast & Crew

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Justin Chadwick

Director

Natalie Portman

Anne Boleyn

Scarlett Johansson

Mary Boleyn

Eric Bana

King Henry VIII

Kristin Scott Thomas

Lady Elizabeth

Mark Rylance

Sir Thomas Boleyn

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The Other Boleyn Girl

A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." A scene from the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." On the set of the film "The Other Boleyn Girl." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) lacks an heir. Seeing this as an opportunity for personal gain, the Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey) and Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance) persuade Thomas' daughter Anne (Natalie Portman) to seduce the king. But Henry falls in love with Anne's sister, Mary (Scarlett Johansson), instead. When Mary becomes pregnant, she's confined to bed, with charged with Anne keeping the king from straying -- but the plan backfires when Anne seeks the king's affections for herself.
Director
Justin Chadwick
Producer
Alison Owen
Screenwriter
Peter Morgan
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co
Columbia Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Sexual Content|Mature Thematic Elements|Some Violent Images)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 29, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$26.8M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)