''Mary Queen of Scots'' is a 2018

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by Josie Rourke (in her feature directorial debut) and with a screenplay by Beau Willimon based on John Guy's 2004 biography ''Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart''. The film stars

Saoirse Ronan Saoirse Una Ronan ( , ; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas since adolescence, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for ...

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, and

Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Globe ...

as her cousin

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn,

David Tennant David John Tennant ('' né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the ...

, and

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series '' Neighbour ...

also star in supporting roles. ''Mary Queen of Scots'' had its world premiere on closing night of

AFI Fest The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

on 15 November 2018, was released in the United States on 7 December 2018, and in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2019. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the performances (particularly Ronan and Robbie) and costumes, but was criticised for the screenplay and several historical inaccuracies. The film received three nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and two nominations, for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AM ...

. For her performance, Robbie earned nominations for a SAG Award and

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for Best Supporting Actress.

Plot

In 1561, nineteen-year-old

Mary Stuart Mary Stuart or Mary Stewart may refer to: People *Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan (before 1428–1465), fifth daughter of James I of Scotland, 1st Countess of Buchan *Mary of Guelders (c. 1434–1463), queen to James II of Scotland * Mary Stewart, ...

, the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

queen of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, returns to her home country from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

following the death of her husband,

Francis II of France Francis II (french: François II; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also King consort of Scotland as a result of his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in 1560. He ...

, to take up her throne, where she is received by her half brother, the

Earl of Moray The title Earl of Moray, Mormaer of Moray or King of Moray was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until 1130 th ...

. In neighbouring

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Mary's twenty-eight-year-old cousin Elizabeth is the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

queen of England – unmarried, childless, and threatened by Mary's potential claim to her throne. Mary dismisses the cleric

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordga ...

from her court. A Protestant and leader of the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...

, Knox views Mary as a danger to the kingdom's Protestant supremacy. Seeking to weaken her cousin's threat to her sovereignty, Elizabeth arranges for Mary, whom many English Catholics regard as their rightful queen, to be married to an Englishman. She chooses

Robert Dudley Robert Dudley is the name of: Surname * Robert Dudley (actor) (1869–1955), American dentist and film character actor *Robert Dudley (explorer) (1574–1649), illegitimate son of the 1st Earl of Leicester *Robert Charles Dudley (1826–1909) wate ...

, whom she secretly loves; although he and Mary are unwilling, news of Elizabeth's

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

convinces Mary to accept, provided she is named Elizabeth's heir. Reluctant to let go of Dudley, Elizabeth sends Lord Darnley to Scotland with the pretence of living under their religious freedom. Despite sensing the ulterior motive, Mary grows fond of Darnley and eventually accepts his proposal. Mary's impending marriage causes a constitutional crisis within both realms: Elizabeth is advised to oppose the marriage for fear that Darnley, an English noble, will elevate Mary's claim to the crown; Mary's council is suspicious of Darnley, fearing an English takeover. Both kingdoms demand his return to England but Mary refuses, leading Moray to mount a rebellion against her. Mary marries Darnley, only to discover him in bed with her friend and private secretary,

David Rizzio David Rizzio ( ; it, Davide Rizzio ; – 9 March 1566) or Riccio ( , ) was an Italian courtier, born in Pancalieri close to Turin, a descendant of an ancient and noble family still living in Piedmont, the Riccio Counts di San Paolo e Solbrit ...

. Mary quashes the rebel forces but spares Rizzio and Moray, and demands that Darnley give her a child. When a child is conceived, Mary declares the child is "heir to Scotland and England" – offending the English. Moray colludes with Darnley's father

Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (21 September 1516 – 4 September 1571) was a leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland. He was the paternal grandfather of King James VI of Scotland and I of England. He owned Temple Newsam in Yorkshire, ...

, to undermine Mary. They spread rumours that her child was illegitimately fathered by Rizzio, driving John Knox to vehemently denounce Mary as an adulteress. Fearing these accusations and the possible discovery of his homosexuality, Darnley is coerced by the underminers to join them in murdering Rizzio, and reluctantly delivers the final blow. Discovering the plot of weakening her rule and giving Darnley more power, Mary convinces Darnley to side with her and escape with her instead, which turns out to be a ploy for her army to detain him. Mary agrees to pardon the conspirators if presented with evidence that Darnley took part. She ultimately forgives Moray, and asks Elizabeth to be her child's godmother. They agree the child is heir presumptive, despite the English court's hostility. Mary banishes Darnley but refuses to divorce him, despite the appeals of her council, which approaches her adviser and protector, the

Earl of Bothwell Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was re-created for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, Fr ...

, to have him killed. After Darnley's murder, Mary is forced to flee without her child. Bothwell advises that her council has decided she must marry a Scotsman immediately—and that Scotsman should be Bothwell himself. Mary resists, suspecting he was involved in Darnley's murder, but after he threatens her and subsequently rapes her, she consents. This induces Knox to preach to the Scots that Mary is a "harlot" who had her husband killed, leading Moray and her court to demand her abdication. Despite her objections, Mary eventually abdicates and flees to England. Elizabeth arranges a clandestine meeting, where Mary asks for help to take back her throne. Unable to go to war on behalf of a Catholic, Elizabeth instead promises a safe exile in England as long as Mary does not aid her enemies. Mary responds that if she does, it will only be because Elizabeth forced her to do so, and threatens that should Elizabeth murder her, she should remember that she "murdered her own sister and queen". Placing Mary under house arrest, Elizabeth receives compelling evidence that Mary conspired with her enemies to have her assassinated, and orders Mary's execution. Elizabeth laments that even if the evidence is untrue, she has to order her execution, for she has given her whole self to the throne, but fondly remembers Mary for her bravery and beauty. As Mary walks to the

scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely used ...

, a remorseful Elizabeth cries for Mary, who reveals a bright red dress, implying herself to be a martyr. In her final thoughts, Mary wishes her son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

well and hopes for peace upon his reign. A post-script notes that upon Elizabeth's death in 1603, James became the first monarch to rule both Scotland and England.

Cast

Mary Queen of Scots premiere (32891216208)

, and Elizabeth's cousin *

, Mary's cousin and the Queen of England * Jack Lowden as Henry Darnley, Mary's second husband * Joe Alwyn as

, Elizabeth's counselor and lover *

, founder of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

as William Cecil, advisor to Elizabeth *

Gemma Chan Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied law at Worcester College, Oxford before choosing to pursue a career in acting instead, enrolling at t ...

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made ...

, a friend and confidante of Elizabeth and keeper of Mary * Martin Compston as Lord Bothwell, Mary's third husband * Ismael Cruz Córdova as

, Mary's close friend and confidant * Brendan Coyle as

Earl of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first ea ...

, father of Lord Darnley *

Ian Hart Ian Davies (born 8 October 1964), better known by his stage name Ian Hart, is an English actor. His most notable roles are Rabbit in the Channel Four drama miniseries '' One Summer'' (1983), Joe O'Reilly in the biopic '' Michael Collins'' (199 ...

Lord Maitland Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, Secretary of State of Scotland *

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the L ...

as Lord Randolph, Elizabeth's ambassador to Scotland * James McArdle as James, Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland In addition, Eileen O’Higgins, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Izuka Hoyle and Liah O'Prey are seen throughout the film as Mary's personal attendants, historically known as "The Four Marys",

Mary Beaton Mary Beaton (1543–1598) was a Scottish noblewoman and an attendant of Mary, Queen of Scots. She and three other ladies-in-waiting ( Mary Livingston, Mary Fleming and Mary Seton) were collectively known as "The Four Marys". Family Mary was b ...

Mary Fleming Mary Fleming () (1542–fl. 1581) was a Scottish noblewoman and childhood companion and cousin of Mary, Queen of Scots. She and three other ladies-in-waiting ( Mary Livingston, Mary Beaton and Mary Seton) were collectively known as "The Four M ...

Mary Seton Mary Seton (1542 – 1615) was a Scottish courtier and later a nun. She was one of the four attendants of Mary, Queen of Scots, known as the Four Marys. She was a sister at the Convent of Saint Pierre les Dames in Reims at the time of her death. ...

and Mary Livingston, respectively. Alex Beckett, who appears as

Sir Walter Mildmay Sir Walter Mildmay (bef. 1523 – 31 May 1589) was a statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Elizabeth I, and founded Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Origins He was born at Moulsham in Essex, the fourth and youngest son of T ...

, English Chancellor of the Exchequer, died at age 35, seven months before the film's release; the film is dedicated to his memory. The director, Josie Rourke, followed the principle of

colour-blind casting Color-blind casting, also referred to as non-traditional casting, integrated casting, or blind casting is the practice of casting without considering the actor's ethnicity, skin color, body shape, sex or gender. A representative of the Actors' ...

. The movie portrays the English ambassador to the Scottish Court, Lord Thomas Randolph, as a black man, which he was not. Gemma Chan's character is Elizabeth Hardwick, who in real life was white. Rourke told the ''L.A. Times'': "I was really clear, I would not direct an all-white period drama."

Production

The film was originally planned to be a

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

vehicle, scheduled to begin shooting in mid-2007 on a $25–30 million budget. After Johansson dropped out, the film languished in

development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game en ...

for several years. On 9 August 2012, it was announced that

would play the title role of

. It took another five years, until 21 April 2017, until it was announced that

was cast to play

, and that the film was scheduled to commence principal photography in August 2017. The film based on John Guy's biography ''My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots'' would be produced by

Working Title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

's Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Debra Hayward, and HBI Production's James Biggam. Josie Rourke was announced to direct the film from an adapted screenplay by Beau Willimon. On 13 June 2017, Jack Lowden was announced to play Lord Darnley, while Joe Alwyn was announced to play

. On 22 June 2017, it was reported that Martin Compston was cast in the film to play

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell ( – 14 April 1578), better known simply as Lord Bothwell, was a prominent Scottish nobleman. He was known for his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third and final husband. ...

, the third husband of Stuart. On 23 June 2017, German-Romanian actress Maria-Victoria Dragus had also joined the cast to play Scottish noblewoman and childhood friend of Stuart,

, marking her English-language debut in film, having a minor role previously in Australian teen drama '' Dance Academy''. On 17 August 2017, Brendan Coyle,

, and

joined the cast, followed by

the next day. On 22 August, Ismael Cruz Córdova was cast to play

, Mary's close friend and confidant.

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in t ...

handled the domestic rights while

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

handled the international distribution. The crew on the film included

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

winners costume designer

Alexandra Byrne Alexandra Byrne (born 1962) is an English costume designer. Much of her career has focused on creating costumes for period dramas. These films include ''Persuasion'' (1995), ''Hamlet'' (1996), '' Elizabeth'' (1998), '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), ...

, hair and make-up designer Jenny Shircore and editor

Chris Dickens Chris Dickens (born February, 1967) is a British film and television editor. For his work on ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008), directed by Danny Boyle, he won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing, and the Am ...

;

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning production designer James Merifield; and

-winning cinematographer John Mathieson.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began on 17 August 2017, in various locations around the United Kingdom, including Scotland.

Release

It had its world premiere at the closing night gala of

on 15 November 2018 in Los Angeles, CA. The film was released in the United States on 7 December 2018, and in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2019.

Historical accuracy

Historians have heavily criticised the inaccuracies of the story. Mary and Elizabeth's letters to each other are believed to have been their only sources of communication, and they are not known to have met. There have been suggestions that Mary would not have had a

Scottish accent Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standar ...

. The five-year-old Mary was sent to

, where she grew up in the French Court. Estelle Paranque, an expert on Queen Elizabeth I, told ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'': "It shows a friendship at first, but there was not a friendship, Elizabeth tried to be kind to her at first but Mary never saw Elizabeth as an equal. She saw her as a rival from the start."

Soundtrack

Reception

Box office

''Mary Queen of Scots'' grossed $16.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $29.9 million in other countries, for a total worldwide gross of $46.4 million.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Mary Queen of Scots'' delivers uneven period political thrills while offering a brilliant showcase for the talents of its well-matched leads." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, with 38% saying they would definitely recommend it. Reviewers criticised the film's

historicity Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity deno ...

, its plotting and its sex scenes. Emily Yoshida of ''New York'' magazine's ''Vulture'' site called it "a kind of nothing of a film. It's neither a rigorous history lesson nor a particularly interesting work of drama and character"; Shane Watson of '' The Telegraph'' called it "history porn for the

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

generation"; while A.O. Scott of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said that "students of Scottish history may be surprised to learn that the fate of the nation was partly decided by an act of

cunnilingus Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed by a person on the vulva or vagina of another person. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the human female genitalia, and its stimulation may result in a woman becoming sexually aroused ...

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2018 directorial debut films 2018 biographical drama films 2010s historical drama films American biographical drama films American historical drama films British biographical drama films British historical drama films Films about cousins Films about Elizabeth I Films about Mary, Queen of Scots Films based on biographies Films produced by Eric Fellner Films produced by Tim Bevan Films scored by Max Richter Films set in the 1560s Films shot in Edinburgh Films shot in Gloucestershire Focus Features films Universal Pictures films Working Title Films films Biographical films about British royalty 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s British films