Ahead of the game

by Ben Soton

Firebrand: Alicia Vikander; Junia Rees; Ruby Bentall; director Karim Aïnouz; 121 mins

Every schoolboy and schoolgirl can remember the rhyme, Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. This film is the story of Henry VIII’s sixth wife, Catherine Parr; the one who survived. It makes a change for a film to feature a wife of Henry VIII who is not Anne Boleyn; recall Anne of a Thousand Days (1970) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). The film features Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr and Jude Law as Henry. Set during Henry’s final years, when Catherine Parr was as much his carer as his wife, a pivotal feature of the film is her relationship with the radical Protestant preacher Anne Askew. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Protestantism was a progressive force; it attacked various aspects of the old feudal order. During the Tudor era this included the Catholic Church based in Rome whilst it was also adopted by sections of the gentry as a means of establishing a more modern state and seizing Church land. Although Henry broke with Rome and made himself head of the Church in England he was still firmly committed to Catholic doctrine. Even though he may have ultimately encouraged the growth of Protestantism through some of his modernising advisors such as Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer. Throughout the film Catherine is at odds with Henry’s ultra-conservative Bishop of Winchester Stephen Gardiner (played by Simon Russell Beale) and tries to cover her links to Askew.

Jude Law’s portrayal of Henry paints him as a violent, semi-impotent tyrant who know his game is almost up. The unpleasant sex scenes would turn many off the carnal act; perhaps not the best film to see if you are on your first date. On a more serious note it also shows the subservient position of women, even those of a higher class in Tudor England.
The King is heavily under the influence of Gardiner, who hopes to return England back to Rome while the modernising Seymour brothers, uncles of Henry’s heir Edward, seek to keep England on a more reforming path. The plot revolves around Catherine’s ability to avoid Gardiner’s detection. Meanwhile Erin Doherty’s portrayal of Anne Askew shows the revolutionary potential of radical Protestantism. But it would not become a serious force for change for another century in the English Civil War.
Although an obviously low budget film and relatively short the film is able to capture much of the intrigue of Henry’s court. It’s rival personalities represent conflicting interests as well as a woman’s struggle for survival in an overwhelmingly patriarchal world. The film is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in Tudor history.