'' Two sisters for a king '': from accomplices to rivals
When rumor spreads that King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) no longer shares Queen Catherine's bed, his wife unable to give him a male heir, Sir Thomas Boleyn dreams of winning the royal favor thanks to his eldest daughter Anne (Natalie Portman). This ambitious project is thwarted when the king falls in love with Mary (Scarlett Johansson), the other sister Boleyn, who has just got married ...
Two sisters for a King of Justin Chadwick, adapted from Philippa Gregory's novel, sheds light on a key period in English history, the separation of the Kingdom of England from the Church of Rome. This fictionalized version shows us, once again, that the great story is played out in the most intimate alcoves.
Through a father who literally offers one of his daughters to the King of England, two sisters, interpreted by Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, first accomplices, become rivals.
Each in a very different role - the first person embodying a submissive young woman, the second a rebel with an unusual ambition for the time - Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman we transmit the impossibility, and the resulting despair, of women of that time (the beginning of the sixteenth century) to govern their lives as they intended. They were permanently under the control of a father, a husband or a monarch. This time when girls were a common currency for a family's prosperity. This time when mothers were helpless in these negotiations (Kristin Scott-Thomas is remarkable as a mother without recourse to the sacrifice of her children). This 
when a king (Eric Bana, amazing) had power of life and death over his subjects and his own family. A bloody and barbaric time when a life was not worth much. It should be noted in passing that historical reconstructions (costumes and scenery) of Two Sisters for a King are remarkable.
This story of women challenges us because it resonates with other more current: if the Court of England has changed since the sixteenth century, other countries and civilizations have not evolved on the same rhythm and still live in this obscurantism today.
Two Sisters for a King (The Other Boleyn Girl) by Justin Chadwick with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana. Released April 2, 2008.
From Philippa Gregory's novel published by Editions de l'Archipel.
The official website of the film: click here.
