Mary, Queen of Scots

THE GIST: Queen of Scotland Mary Stuart becomes Queen of France via marriage, only to be widowed two years later. Her position weakened, she returns home to Scotland, desiring to lay claim to the English throne, currently occupied by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, whom she considers a usurper. Elizabeth, who is unmarried and without offspring, is well aware of Mary's intentions and must carefully weaken her claim without risking an insurrection on religious grounds since she's a Protestant and Mary a Catholic.

Mary, Queen of Scots will probably only attract viewers who enjoy period movies, but that would be a pity.

The movie is really about the battle of wills between these two strong and powerful women who tried to outmaneuver one another while also fending off presumptions of weakness and being undeserving because of their gender.

Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie are pitch perfect in their roles as Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I respectively. Also of note Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, and Gemma Chan.

The film was nominated for Best Costume Design and Makeup Oscars.

THE BOTTOM LINE: A great battle of wills between two fantastic actresses with wonderful production values. I'm there!

Grade: 8