Gunpowder, Treason and Plot (2004)

Plot 1: Mary (Clémence Poésy), Queen of Scots, returns from France to her throne at 16. A Catholic queen on a protestant throne, Mary faces great dissent as her attempts to unify her country, much to the chagrin of her half brother, Lord James (Steven Duffy), and her cousin, Elizabeth I (Catherine McCormack). She is protected by Bothwell (Kevin McKidd), a protestant peasant who grows to love her.

Plot 2: After he has his mother murdered so that he may ascend the throne, James (Robert Carlyle) bides his time until Elizabeth dies, and he can inherit both thrones. A staunch protestant, he promises clemency to the Catholics but breaks his promise when he realizes how much money can be gained from their persecution. Knowing that he lost his honour for naught, Thomas Percy (Richard Harrington) seeks out Guy Fawkes (Michael Fassbender), and the infamous "Gunpowder Plot" is set in motion.

Why two plots, you might ask? Well, it's a two part mini-series. I decided that if a mini-series limits itself to two-parts, it's closer to a long movie than a series.

In this case it's closer to two completely different movies, which doesn't make a lot of sense. Gillies MacKinnon directed both, and Jimmy McGovern penned both. Why, then, would he make one good and one almost un-watchable?

The first part, which focuses on Mary, deals largely with Mary's love life, juxtaposing it with her brother's plot to take her throne. Poésy makes Mary a certain contradiction in terms, a strong victim if you will. Mary herself is a strong-willed and powerful woman, but she is victimized by a combination of circumstance and naivete.

McKidd stands out as the star performer in the first half. His Bothwell is alive with passion, and I couldn't understand for the life of me why Mary would choose to marry anyone else.

There is one thing that confuses me though. In fact, it's something that's been confusing me for some time now in movies. The audience is convinced of how much one man loves a particular woman who, for whatever reason, is not in a position to return his affection, only to see him in bed with another. What am I supposed to think? He loves her so much that hopped into bed with this other lady? That just doesn't make any sense to me.

Alright, on to the second half.

For some rather dimwitted reason, McGovern has the characters address the camera. Okay, so it's for an expositional reason. Even so, there are other ways of letting the audience know what characters are up to without telling them directly. In any case, it was largely distracting and did little to add to the movie.

Also, this half is a lot more graphically sexual and violent than the first half, which I also did not enjoy.

Carlyle remains one of the top actors in films today, and his performance here is nothing short of remarkable. The way that man can transform himself into anyone borders on breathtaking. Sometimes I feel like I could watch him all day.

Preferably, though, not playing a character as pervy as James VI of Scotland/I of England.