Director: Karim Aïnouz

Stars: Alicia Vikander, Jude Law, Simon Russell Beale, Sam Riley

Normally foreign directors can be relied upon to bring something new to the staid period drama genre. Sadly, this adaptation of Elizabeth Freemantle’s ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ from director Karim Aïnouz fails to break the trappings, despite a promising premise. Vikander, no stranger to period drama, is Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, taking advantage of the time her husband is away at war to push through radical Protestant reform. When we first encounter Katherine, she is sneaking away from the palace to attend a talk from a radical childhood friend. Then Henry (Law) returns earlier than she expected with an ailing leg and an increased sense of paranoia and intolerance for dissenters. While all the elements – a capricious and dangerous monarch, a rebellious, radical wife, and a volatile court atmosphere – are in place, the drama takes a little too long to ignite, mainly due to sluggish pacing. Vikander is a little restrained here too: demonstrations of her wiliness would have been welcome. Jude Law's gross monarch is nasty fun at least, particularly in the scenes where he coerces Katherine into doing his bidding.

David Willoughby

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