The Other Boleyn Girl: Book vs. Movie

From the first digital turn of the page (courtesy of Stanza), I was engrossed in fine ways of the English court and the constant pursuit of power of the Boleyn family. However, I never thought that it would transcend all  that I expected from it. From the wicked ways of the court, to the highly graphic exploitations of feminine ways of the time to witchcraft, incest and homosexuality, the book could not be more packed with controversial details of medieval England. And the fact that this is a historical novel, meaning most of it are anchored on actual events made me the more inclined to race through the pages. After reading the last paragraph of this enchanting tale, I quickly went to my computer to watch the movie version I knew existed.

It was beyond disappointing. It was like watching another story not related with the much  captivating novel of Philippa Gregory. So much was taken out, and though that was expected from a novel turned movie franchise, I felt as if they removed important plot lines and added ones with little deliberation.

Plot changes, edits, scene reshuffling I can forgive, but not major characterization flaws. What happened to the seducing, manipulative and selfish Anne? Movie-version-Anne was almost a kind and humble queen much like who reigned before her.

The King was apologetic, Mary and Anne's mother was a caring one,  George was a loving brother who was not capable of incest and was definitely not gay and Mary looked almost like a saint. Where were the spite, the  competition between sisters, the cruelty of the people and the many mind games of the court? Every one of the characters, except for the feared Uncle was a legitimate Mary Sue, a complete contradiction to the literary version I grew to love.

End Rant: Although reading The Other Boleyn Girl filled me with much interest about the Tudors, King Henry's 6 wives and the monarchy that reigned after their times, the movie did nothing of that sort. If the novel was exactly like its film version, I wouldn't have bothered reading it.