Milli mála - 2015, Blaðsíða 185
INGIBJÖRG ÁGÚSTSDÓTTIR
Milli mála 7/2015
190
Much the same can be said about the last film discussed here,
Thomas Imbach’s Mary Queen of Scots (2013), an adaptation of Stefan
Zweig’s Maria Stuart (1935) and, overall, a rather unconvincing por-
trayal of Mary, which tries to be artistic and original but fails to con-
vince entirely or take off properly in this endeavour. Mary herself
(Camille Rutherford), is the main focus of this film, and Elizabeth
never makes an appearance except as either a doll in a puppet show,
a painted figure in the many portraits of her presented at the Scottish
court, or – once – as a shadowy figure on horseback at the time of
Mary’s execution. Despite this, the narrative of Mary’s life is heavily in-
fluenced by the presence of her English cousin. Thus the film begins
on the eve of Mary’s execution with a voiceover in which Mary reads
her letter to Elizabeth in French, starting with the words: “Elizabeth,
my dear cousin, this will be the last of my unsent letters. Tomorrow,
there will no longer be two queens in England”. There are several
such voiceovers during the film, wherein Mary expresses her desires,
fears and political frustrations to her cousin, albeit in unsent letters,
which according to one critic is a clever way to lay bare Mary’s emo-
tional state while avoiding the “stolid tendencies” of other historical
films on Mary (Weissberg 2013: n.p.). The story is then interspersed by
episodes in which Mary’s adviser Rizzio oversees a puppet show
where Elizabeth and Mary are bickering like children over who is
queen, whether the other should wear a crown, and other petty
things. This, as Weissberg points out, gives voice to Mary’s “troubled
relationship” with Elizabeth (Weissberg 2013: n.p.). The puppet Eliza-
beth also appears during times of crisis for Mary, for instance when
her first husband King Francis is dead and the puppet speaks to her as
she lies on the floor overcome by grief: “Over, gone and done! In fu-
ture, choose your husbands very wisely, to keep them alive, my dear.”
Elizabeth’s puppet even appears in the hands of a ghostly Rizzio after
he has been killed, as if to taunt Mary. It thus functions as a malicious
symbol for the real queen, in truth Mary’s adversary, but still someone
whose favour and friendship Mary desperately seeks. Elizabeth, des-
pite being presented in such a way, is a looming presence over Mary’s
life and reign, and someone against whom Mary is continually meas-
uring herself. In the end, a devastated and ruined Mary states the im-
pact Elizabeth has had on her: “For all these years she has been reluc-