By: Keaton Marcus

The period piece "Mary Queen of Scots" delivers strong lead performances by both Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie--screaming the word feminism--and the film is a suitable tribute to the subject matter. This is of course despite the fact the film is occasionally failing to bring the true story to a cinematic wonder--sporting choppy scripting and poorly edited scenes. Although the film has many disappointing imperfections, the shining star in the production is the beautifully done costume design--filled with rich color and detail--along with the realistic final touches; the scenery of Ireland and England, is also fantastic, and the film definitely deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography--brought to life by John Mathieson. The abundant talent in the cast is never put to waste, but never quite reaches their full potential--generally because of the really "meh" film around them.

The two "queens" never really have met--as the film sets up Elizabeth (Robbie) and Mary in different, rival countries of England and Scotland--Protestant and Catholic. The story takes place smack in the middle of the 16th century when a female-led rivalry between the two leaders was steaming up to a battle. Mary (Ronan), at first an 18-year-old Catholic was married to King Francis II, primarily the leader of France--but after he died--she was widowed, soon before being remarried to Lord Darnley (Jack Lowden)--and demands that she is given a child to rule after her prophesized death (shown in a flash--in the opening scene).

In Scotland--director Josie Rourke knows how to heat up the scene--as Mary plows through several husbands, she has a sexual affair with everyone. The leader is the primary reason that "Mary Queen of Scots" is rated R--as the director plays it safe in almost every other conceivable way--which is at times disappointing. However, her second husband, the aforementioned Darnley clearly prefers Mary's gay advisor Rizzio in bed--fueling the sexual tension even more, and by god--at least the film has some entertaining moments. On the other hand, the virgin queen Elizabeth of England stays away from men--and as the post-script tells us, the ruler never had children at all--this is really a hysterical comparison; and is actually one of the smartest concepts the generally dreary film delivers. Clearly showing that Mary was all in (figuratively and literally), while her cousin never even dreamed of sexual intercourse with men--as Robbie so successfully represents in the film.

The leading women are one of the only successful things that "Mary Queen of Scots" can produce, largely because of their prominent talent. Actress Saoirse Ronan who delivered a supposedly magnetic performance in last year's coming-of-age drama "Lady Bird", is the definite version of a complete bad-ass feminist--who clearly does not let the supporting (and generally evil) men tell her what to do and not. The only problems with Ronan's terrific outing are that her heroic attempts at a Scottish accent do not always work--generally because of the laughable script. Overall, however--in this political drama, Irish American actress Saoirse Ronan delivers a performance TO BE WATCHED.

The supporting cast is generally just as firm as the tour-de-force Ronan provided. Led by Oscar-nominated actress Margot Robbie, playing Queen Elizabeth of England, Mary's cousin at the time. While the film shows that they are blood-related--the two different characters are completely different, Elizabeth is a virgin, while Mary never turns down the offer. Also, Elizabeth is portrayed as the "Darth Vader of the 16th century", while Mary's character development plays more like the rebel alliance--as England does not accept Catholics. Robbie made her big-popular-break in 2016's DCEU produced "Suicide Squad"--and while the film around her was truly a total mess, Robbie's performance as titular character Harley Quinn attempted many times to take down the flaws. In "Mary" Robbie's talent is showcased solidly--albeit not as well as it could be--again courtesy of the disappointing screenplay. Elizabeth is truly one of the most complex, and interesting (in good and bad ways) roles to play in a film and filmmaker Josie Rourke never digs deep enough to the character's origins. Otherwise, "Doctor Who" star David Tennant joins the cast as a snarky, brutal John Knox--who accuses Mary of giving birth to a bastard--before saying that the ruler has committed adultery. Tennant's performance is so annoying, and irritating, that it works--then again it depends what kind of person you are--watching Mary being raped by many men--then being called her a whore. Mentioned by me many, many times before the cast members shine in what I call a stocky period film.

The final verdict is: The two leading women bring grace along with a solid amount of grit to the film, and the costume design is undeniably beautifully done--but the unintentionally funny script and choppily executed film editing makes "Mary Queen of Scots" a handsomely mounted, but stuffy drama pic that benefits from Ronan and Robbie's performances...$TREAM IT

Mary (Saorise Ronan) and Lord Darnley (Jack Lowden) in Mary Queen of Scots — Mary (Saorise Ronan) and Lord Darnley (Jack Lowden) in *Mary Queen of Scots*

Mary Queen of Scots kicked off in limited release, with a powerhouse three-day of over 194,000 from just four theaters. In its second weekend, the film gained 259%, grossing a sophomore of over 699,000 from 66 locations, topping 962,000 domestically. Currently, the film has baked up over 16.4M domestically and 43.1M worldwide.

Genre: Drama

Age Rating: 15+

Lemonradar: 60/100 "sweet/sour"