Firebrand: Film Review
As a huge fan of Alicia Vikander, I was pleased to see her back on my screen in Firebrand. Unfortunately, however, I wasn’t completely sold on Karim Aïnouz‘s period drama.
Vikander plays Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII (Jude Law). She is named regent and put in a position of power while the king battles abroad. When he returns home, he becomes paranoid and suspicious, certain that she has betrayed him or committed heresy. Knowing that he won’t last much longer due to an infected wound on his leg, Parr must take steps to ensure her survival.
This film takes a really long time to get going and is so slow that I almost fell asleep. The momentum picks up and it becomes a more compelling watch once Law joins us as the despicable and disgusting tyrant. The story examines the power play and betrayal within their abusive marriage and the intensity of the drama continually ramps up until the gripping finale.
After watching, I went away and furiously Googled various elements to see what was true and what wasn’t. This is based on Elizabeth Fremantle‘s historical fiction novel Queen’s Gambit so you should not take what happens as the gospel truth. Historians or those in the know might not be pleased with all the inaccuracies.
Vikander looks radiant in the spectacular costumes (the production design is excellent too) but she is constantly outshone by Law, who has a much grander and outlandish presence. It’s jarring seeing this ’90s heartthrob as such a gross human being. He isn’t as fat as Henry was but he convincingly depicts him as an insecure, paranoid and egotistical ruler and husband. Law wore a concoction of vile smells on set as Henry’s leg was literally rotting. His co-stars must have been gagging!
Firebrand shines a light on a radical schemer, heretic and a woman ahead of her time. I just wish the film made her story more exciting in the first half.
In cinemas from Friday 6th September