Mary Queen of Scots (2018 film)

Mary Queen of Scots had its world premiere on closing night of AFI Fest 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 Robbie) and costumes, but was criticised for the screenplay and several historical inaccuracies.^[4] The film received three nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards,^[5] and two nominations, for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, at the 91st Academy Awards. For her performance, Robbie earned nominations for a SAG Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Plot[edit]

In 1561, after the death of her husband, King Francis II, nineteen-year-old Mary Stuart returns to Scotland from France to take up her throne. She is received by her illegitimate half brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray. In neighboring England, Mary's twenty-eight year old cousin, Elizabeth Tudor, is the Protestant Queen of England – Elizabeth, who is unmarried and childless, is threatened by Mary's claim to the English throne. Mary dismisses the cleric John Knox, a Protestant leader of the Scottish Reformation, from the Scottish court. He views the young Catholic queen as a danger to the Protestant religion in Scotland.


Seeking to weaken her cousin's threat, Elizabeth arranges for Mary, whom many English Catholics regard as England's rightful queen, to be married to an Englishman. Elizabeth chooses Lord Robert Dudley, her childhood friend whom she secretly loves; although he and Mary are unwilling, news of Elizabeth's case of smallpox convinces Mary to accept, provided she is named heiress apparent. Reluctant to let go of Dudley, Elizabeth sends Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley to Scotland with the pretence of living under their religious freedom. Despite sensing the ulterior motive, Mary grows fond of Darnley and accepts his proposal.


Mary's marriage causes a constitutional crisis within both realms: Elizabeth is advised to oppose her cousin's marriage for fear that Darnley, an English noble, will elevate Mary's claim to her throne; 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 private secretary, David Rizzio. Mary defeats the rebel forces but spares Rizzio and Moray, and demands that Darnley give her a child. When their son, James, is conceived and born, Mary declares that she brings "an heir to Scotland and to England" – offending the English.


Moray colludes with Darnley's father, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, to undermine his sister. They spread false rumors that her son was actually fathered by Rizzio, driving Knox to denounce Mary as an adulteress. Fearing these accusations and the possible discovery of his homosexuality, Darnley is coerced into murdering Rizzio.


Discovering the plot, Mary convinces Darnley to side with 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 she is presented with evidence that Darnley took part. She ultimately forgives Moray, and asks Elizabeth to be James's godmother. Both queens agree James is the 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, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, to have him killed.


After Darnley's murder, Mary is forced to flee, leaving behind her son. Bothwell says that her council has decided she must marry a Scotsman immediately—and that Scotsman should be Bothwell himself. Mary resists, and suspects he was involved in Darnley's murder, but after he threatens and subsequently rapes her, she consents. Knox preaches that Mary is a "harlot" who had her husband killed, leading Moray and her court to demand her abdication. Mary obliges, and flees to England.


Elizabeth arranges a clandestine meeting, where Mary asks for help to take back her throne. Unwilling to go to war on behalf of a Catholic queen, Elizabeth promises a safe exile in England as long as Mary does not aid her enemies. Mary responds that if she was to do so, it would only be because Elizabeth forced her to do so, and threatens that should Elizabeth kill her, she should remember that she would "murder" her sister and queen. Placing Mary under house arrest, Elizabeth receives compelling evidence that Mary conspired with her enemies to have her assassinated, and reluctantly orders Mary's execution. As Mary walks to the scaffold, a remorseful Elizabeth cries for her. Mary's servants then reveal a bright red dress, implying Mary to be a martyr. In her final words, Mary hopes her son will have a peaceful reign.


A post-script notes that upon Elizabeth's death in 1603, James VI became the first monarch to rule both Scotland and England.

Historicity[edit]

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.^[26]


There have been suggestions that Mary would not have had a Scottish accent. The five-year-old Mary was sent to France, where she grew up in the French Court.^[26] In the film, Mary and her attendants often converse in French.


Estelle Paranque, an expert on Queen Elizabeth I, told The Daily Telegraph: "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."^[26]