Mary Queen of Scots                      2 ½ stars

Mary Queen of Scots is a partly historical, partly fictional account of sixteenth century England when Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan), the teenage queen returns to Scotland to claim the crown and threatened the rule of Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) over England.  The film is remarkable in its sets, costumes and dialogue, but gets bogged down in the story that focuses on the men who serve the monarchs as they scheme to gain power and influence for themselves.  We are frequently bombarded with the message that these two “sisters” could accomplish great things if they could find a way to work together and unite the two kingdoms.  Elizabeth’s authority is questioned by the fact that she has not produced a royal heir and Mary is despised by many of her own people because she is both a Catholic and a woman in a mainly Protestant land.  I was confused a bit by the multitude male characters all sporting beards with their English accent, so had some trouble keeping them straight.  Since there are two different kingdoms involved, the two main characters never come together except for one seemingly fabricated scene near the end.  The film does deliver one clear message being most of the men are unwilling to accept the authority of a woman which is still a relevant message today.  The film is still worth seeing for the performances of both Ronan and Robbie who are genuine talents in Hollywood.  David Tennant appears as John Knox, the Protestant leader who preaches against the whorish ways of Mary and is unrecognizable in the long beard and heavy accent.  This year a more entertaining movie than Mary Queen of Scots about British royalty is The Favourite.