"Mary Queen of Scots"

I like my historical dramas, particularly on this period.  You have two female rulers who struggled a great deal on many fronts, the biggest of which was their gender.  Not unheard of given America's struggle to envision a female leader.  In any case the tale of Mary and Elizabeth is a powerful and sad one.  Knowing a great deal about the actual history and having seen multiple portrayals of this story I found this film to be quite good.  It met, but did not exceed, other versions of a well-known history.  There are definite "takes" in terms of character.  Elizabeth appears weaker than expected, given her general paranoia of Mary, and Mary seems somewhat more innocent in the consequences of her actions than she may have been (one has to remember that her mother-in-law in France was Catherine de Medici).  Played well by Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan, respectively, these women come alive with depth and power.  Filmed in a way which added to the narrative without detracting, the two women are backed up by a standard set of British actors who have the chops.  Dialogue is frequently cribbed from actual exchanges between the two monarchs so a real authenticity rings throughout.  With no complaints this one is a good addition to a canon of films on the topic.  The young Saoirse Ronan continues to impress with a growing list of admirable credits and the amazingly flexible Ms. Robbie shows that she can stretch herself far beyond the Barbie/Harley Quinn roles which seem to require a W Magazine figure.  This is the Margot Robbie of "I, Tonya" fame.  Both women delve deep into a well of emotions as they portray women who sacrificed lives for crowns.