When I was an undergraduate, I had a bit of an obsession with Anne Boleyn – a fascinating woman who manipulated her way into a powerful position, who then made the grave mistake of underestimating her powerful husband. I think out of all King Henry VIII’s wives, she is the most known, along with Catherine of Aragon. Katherine Parr, the 6th wife of King Henry, is not as widely spoken about. This movie is about her time as Regent, while Henry was off fighting the French. The movie is based on the book by Elizabeth Fremantle titled Queen’s Gambit – the name was changed probably to avoid confusion with the Netflix TV series.
Everything is calm when Henry (Jude Law) isn’t around. When he’s off at war, we see Katherine (Alicia Vikander) capably handling the nation’s matters, as well as making sure everything in her own household ran smoothly. She and Elizabeth are shown to be close, as she encourages Elizabeth to push herself to do more. This state of things immediately changes the moment Henry arrives. Despite preparing a feast for him, he chooses to forego it due to his pus-infested leg, and calls Katherine for a quick meeting. In those brief moments between them, it tells us everything we need to know about their relationship, and that is because of Vikander and Law’s fantastic performances.
Vikander wears what can be best described as a stoic mask. As Katherine, she keeps her true hand close to her chest, dancing to whatever tune Henry demands of her while working towards her own agenda. Law is simply detestable as Henry. With his ailing health and his power no longer what it was, we can see his impatience when he deals with his more competent wife. Like an indolent child, he cannot stand when he is made to look weak, or that someone else would show him up. Director Karim Aïnouz is keen to show us the baseness of it all, giving us a jump scare of Henry’s fleshy buttocks, as well as him constantly sticking his fingers into women’s mouths.
Law’s performance is meant to be larger than life, while Vikander’s is more subtle, which makes sense when we consider the history and the tight spaces Katherine had to operate within. It’s like being trapped in an abusive relationship from which there is no escape, because her husband is the most powerful man in all the land. Not to mention, two of his previous wives were beheaded for their betrayals, and Katherine is aware that this could be her own fate if she isn’t careful. Their scenes together are honestly hard to watch, especially with the ominous score that accompanies his horrendous behaviour. But Katherine isn’t timid, and doesn’t always hold her tongue or cower. She flashes her teeth as well, which gives us insight as to why she was able to avoid potential pitfalls.
It’s admirable stuff to see her hold her own despite the perils that surround her, and the movie does well in painting for us a portrait of a woman ahead of her time. Her push for religious reformation, her persuasion to Henry to reinstate Mary and Elizabeth in his line of succession, all these maneuvers had weight in the future. While Firebrand is not a perfect film, it is a decent introduction to Katherine Parr to those of us who do not know her, giving us a chance to know her beyond the moniker of her being the only wife that survives Henry.
Review screener provided.
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