John Hale (3) (1926–)

Although the film has taken license with the historical fact for dramatic purposes this is still a powerful and stylish film that tells the story of Mary Stuart (Vanessa Redgrave), Scotland's last Queen and her relationship with her cousin and the Queen of England (Glenda Jackson). The film follows Mary's journey from the French court to Scotland where she becomes ensnared in the religious wars of the time (Mary being Catholic; the Scottish Lords and Elizabeth fiercely Protestant) through to her arrest, her execution and perhaps her overall victory - her son James VI of Scotland uniting the two crowns and becoming James I of England.
What screenwriter John Hale and director Charles Jarrott do brilliantly here is counterpoint the two personalities of the two women - the flighty and emotional Mary and the cold and calculating Elizabeth. Both Redgrave and Jackson are brilliant in their respective roles, imbuing their characters with real depth and delivering their exchanges with deep feeling and sincerity. They have first class support from Ian Holm as he doomed minstrel and Catholic spy Rizzio; Patrick McGoohan as Mary's hard-headed and hard-hearted brother James; Timothy Dalton as the weak and foppish Lord Darnley (Timothy Dalton) and Nigel Davenport as the dashing and charming Lord Bothwell. The film is full of sweep, drama and resonance - a first class historical epic.… (mehr)