Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots is a 2018 historical drama film directed by Josie Rourke (in her feature directorial debut) and with a screenplay by Beau Willimon based on John Guy's 2004 biography Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Mary, Queen of Scots, and Margot Robbie as her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, David Tennant, and Guy Pearce also star in supporting roles. Mary Queen of Scots had its world premiere on closing night of AFI Fest on 15 November 2018, was released in the United States on 7 December 2018, and in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2019. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the performances (particularly Ronan and Robbie) and costumes, but was criticised for the screenplay and several historical inaccuracies. The film received three nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and two nominations, for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, at the 91st Academy Awards. For her performance, Robbie earned nominations for a SAG Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. Plot In 1561, a nineteen-year-old Mary Stuart returns to Scotland from France, following the death of her husband, King Francis II, to take up the throne. She is received by her half brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray. In neighbouring England, Mary's twenty-eight-year-old cousin, Elizabeth Tudor, is the Protestant Queen of England – Elizabeth is unmarried, childless, and threatened by Mary's strong claim to the throne. Mary dismisses the cleric John Knox, a Protestant leader of the Scottish Reformation, from her court. Knox views the young Catholic queen as a danger to the Protestant religion in Scotland. Seeking to weaken her cousin's threat, Elizabeth arranges for Mary, whom many English Catholics regard as England's rightful queen, to be married to an Englishman. She chooses Lord Robert Dudley, Elizabeth’s childhood friend whom she secretly loves; although he and Mary are unwilling, news of Elizabeth's smallpox convinces Mary to accept, provided she is named heir apparent. Reluctant to let go of Dudley, Elizabeth sends Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley to Scotland with the pretence of living under their religious freedom. Despite sensing the ulterior motive, Mary grows fond of Darnley and accepts his proposal.