Good Morning Lovelies, 

Over the years we have witnessed the rise of two incredible actresses. Taking the big screen in both hands and making every role their own, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, have led the way in creating female roles with power, charm and attention. So, it is very fitting that the pair were cast to tell the tale of two queens and their fight for the rights to their lands and religion.

Directed by Josie Rourke, Mary Queen of Scots (out today on DVD, digitally and Blu-ray) is an incredible feature, following the return of the widowed Mary Queen Of Scots (Ronan), as she comes home to her native Scotland to take up her throne and the relationship she has with her cousin Queen Elizabeth (Robbie), who is threatened by the new Catholic ruler.

Unlike The Favourite or other classic dramas that have followed the path and stories of other monarchs, Mary Queen of Scots is a relatable and reliable story. Even with the addition of a meeting between the two queens that never really took place. They are two figures who are facing the rules and regulations of the men around them and fighting to be heard on their own. Both ending up with a horrific conclusion.

From the moment we meet Ronan’s Mary, Rouke and her leading lady make sure audiences know that she is not someone to be messed with. Religion being the key reason. As she fights for her faith and lands, those around her – mainly men – build even more armies to take her down. The people she chooses to help her included. Something that pleases Robbie’s Elizabeth, who after a tragic illness struggles to rule the same way again.

Yet, the two women are often drawn to one another and this is the most appealing aspect of the feature. As an audience, you seek to see how the pair will join. You seek to know what correspondence they had between them. When it comes to a powerful sequence amongst a large set of curtains, you are ready to burst with what you know will happen but seek to see.

Their draw to one another is the same as what makes you drawn in as a viewer. Flowing quickly though, the magic in which this scene could have had is lost and we are soon moved onto what we already know will happen historically.

Rouke, Ronan and Robbie are a brilliant trio, yet with the knowledge, we have already got and the adaptations we’ve already seen, there is a sense of familiarity at times. Yet, this doesn’t make the film unwatchable and in lots of ways, it shows the strength of the story. If added details had just been missed out it would have been better.