Movie Review: Firebrand

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

A flawed but effective historical drama. 

This film tells the story of Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry the Eighth, though it takes more than a few liberties with the true story. 

Where this movie really works is in the sense of atmosphere. This whole film is drenched in a dark but intriguing atmosphere. So much of this is captured in the film's look. Everything from the lighting to the costumes to the cinematography perfectly captures this feeling of dread and constantly draws us into the world of the film. Also helping very much with the sense of dread is how well the danger that Katherine increasingly finds herself in grows. The filmmakers truly know how to build up suspense in an incredibly effective way that makes us feel more ill at ease as the movie goes on. Even the critics who hated this film praised the performances by Alicia Vikander and Jude Law. I have to join in giving these praises. The two give incredibly dynamitic and magnetic performances that draw you into the film and even make some of the weaker scenes kind of work. 

This is the first English Language film by Brazilian director, Karim Aïnouz. However, you can never tell that watching this film as much of the dialogue flows perfectly naturally though.

The main problem with this film is overlength. Many scenes either drag on too long or simply don't add anything to the story. If this was 20 minutes are so shorter, it would be a much tighter and more exciting film. However, as it is even some of the most patient movie fans may find their minds drifting from time to time. The gorier scenes should have definitely been left on the cutting room floor as they simply come off as gratuitous and repetitive. The film also could have benefited from certain characters being fleshed out more. That could have easily made certain scenes have a stronger emotional impact. 

This movie certainly has its flaws, but the things that work are great.