RyothChatty
ridiculous rating
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Marva-nova
Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
elle_kittyca
I give this film a 7 our of ten with an important caveat-it is far more inaccurate historically than any decent historical film should be. I am not talking about the small kind of details than many historically oriented people might complain about... I'm talking about the major details such as the focus on reforming the shilling, which is made to look like a major accomplishment of Jane's even though it did not occur at all in her very very short reign. Most of this film is completely fabricated, from the depiction of her personality to the relationship with her husband. The only thing that is true is that she was used as a pawn by people around her who wanted a protestant queen instead of Catholic queen....and their misuse of her in this plot cost her her life. In all likelihood, so much of the biographical details are fictionalized because we have so little information on what she was really like.The reason I give the film so high a rating is that its a total guilty pleasure for someone who likes a a bit of historical drama. Helena B-Carter is great as a a Jane that is willful, but both strong and vulnerable at the same time She's a pleasure to watch in this, even if we have little information to suggest how Jane herself was. I also like the complexity of the relationship with her husband, even though by most historic accounts, he was a drunken louse and there's no reason to believe they won each others hearts as they did in the film. In short, this is a reasonably well written and presented historical drama, even if not a great representation of Jane and her life.
SnoopyStyle
Henry VIII died in 1547. His only son sickly Edward was 9. The country is divided between Catholics and Reformers. Edward likes his cousin Lady Jane Grey (Helena Bonham Carter) and minister John Dudley Duke of Nothumberland (John Wood) sees the young reformer as a perfect match. In 1553 with Edward dying, John Dudley (John Wood) schemes with Frances Grey to put her daughter Jane on the throne and marry her off to his youngest irresponsible son Guildford Dudley (Cary Elwes). The free thinking Jane and the hard partying Guildford hate the match at first. The Catholics want Mary on the throne after Edward's death. Jane would rule for only 9 days.Firstly, I ignore all the historical inaccuracies in this movie. This is not a big historical event. It's not as if a film claims that Lincoln had slaves. There is no real stakes about faking much of this relationship. This is essentially a romance movie and this one follows a try-and-true method. The characters have real heat hating each other in the beginning and that heat powers the romance. Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes are terrific in this. There are some great Shakespearian actors. Some will notice Patrick Stewart as Jane's father. John Wood is impeccable. This is a terrific romantic movie.
brendangcarroll
Trevor Nunn may be a great theatre director but he cannot make movies. Just why he decided to make this turkey, I cannot imagine. Given that the actual true story of Lady Jane Grey is a fascinating example of political intrigue in Tudor England, it is all the more inexplicable that Nunn opts for a Woman's Own version of the tale complete with syrupy music that lurches in style from faux 16th century to 1980s muzak.Historical accuracy goes out the window and suddenly the 15 year old Jane and her slightly older husband Guildford Dudley are transformed into young lovers cast in the 'Romeo & Juliet' mould. The pace is leaden, and at almost 2 and a half hours, the film is overly long. Beautiful photography and many historic locations aside, the best ingredient is the wonderful supporting cast drawn from some of the finest acting talent in the British Isles.Of course (as can be judged from most of the comments here) the Americans loved it and perhaps it was made for the US market? The recent, equally risible TV series THE TUDORS was made for America too - given that English history is not a strong point across the pond.It was a failure on release and Nunn has not made a major film since.Thank goodness!
obsessedchikee
I had passed the copy of "Lady Jane" at the public library multiple times, each time mildly interested due to Cary Elwes being in it. Finally this week, I actually checked it out after noticing that Helena Bonham Carter (another fave) was in it as well. I never thought it would be this good.I wasn't familiar with the story of Jane Grey before watching the movie which was a good thing. I'm interested in the history of the English kings and queens, particularly Henry VIII and his children. Somewhere I missed the Nine Days Queen and like I said, that was a plus for the movie.Lady Jane (Helena Bonham Carter) is a young girl who embraced the new Protestant religion in a primarily Catholic world. She's put into an arranged marriage with the son of the Duke of Northumberland. Guilford (Cary Elwes) is shown to be a drunken womanizer, dug out of a whorehouse when he is informed of his upcoming wedding. Against all odds(but not too surprising, considering it is a movie) they fall in love. Then, their social climbing parents coerce the dying King Edward to change his will to place Jane as his successor. In that time, Jane and Guilford implement new laws and practices that the counselors are none to pleased with. As a result, the exiled Princess Mary is returned to London and Jane and Guilford are imprisoned for usurping the throne, and eventually executed.Helena Bonham Carter is brilliant in the title role. I haven't seen her act this young before and was pleased with what I saw. She had remarkable discipline as a mere 18 year old and great command of the character.Cary Elwes (always amazing) was very interesting to watch in this. He appears at first to be highly immature, lazy, and unmotivated, desiring nothing but alcohol, and sampling the pleasures of "a lady of the night." He is in truth, revealed to be highly passionate for his cause in reforming the world he lives in. Together, HBC and CE have fantastic chemistry and are a complete joy to watch.The entire cast is good. The majority of them are veteran RSC actors and a wonderful offset to the youthfulness of Helena and Cary.It was a great script, great actors, great music, and in general, it is highly unforgettable. I can watch it again and again.
