A Working Title film that I am going to look further into (which is also my favourite film) is Mary Queen of Scots (2018) and more specifically how the director Josie Rourke's theatrical background influenced her directing of this film. This was Rourke’s feature film directorial debut as she comes from a theatre background and has directed many historical and Shakespearian plays. Working Title Film is a company that she has always admired so when they brought this project to her, she couldn’t say no. The actress Saorise Ronan had also been attached to the film for a few years before it is made and Rourke had been desperate to work with her.
Rourke brought lots of standard theatre principles to this movie that aren’t typical to film such as colour-blind casting. Early on into pre-production, Rourke and casting director, Alastair Coomer (who both come from theatre backgrounds) decided that the film would have a diverse cast as they wouldn’t consider casting it in the theatre with an all-white company. Luckily, Working Title fully supported their decision as to cast the historically Caucasian character Bess of Hardwick being portrayed by a British Asian actress, Gemma Chan who believes that “art should reflect live now” (The Guardian,2019), and the historically Caucasian character Thomas Randolph being portrayed by a Black British actor, Adrian Lester who wanted to “break down the perceptions that people of higher social status at the time could not be black” (Evening Standard, 2019). Rourke faced a lot of backlash for this not being 100% authentic but she fought back with giving the role to the best actor. There has been a history of whitewashing characters since film as an art form began and not necessarily because the white actors were better for the role over POC actors. However, Adrian Lester has been in many Shakespearian plays so he understands the era thoroughly and to Rourke, he was the best person for the jobs regardless of race. The same applies to the two leading actresses as Saorise Ronan who plays Mary, is Irish, not Scottish, and Margot Robbie who plays Elizabeth, is Australian, not English. Despite them not being the same nationalities as these historic figures, there is no doubt that they were the right people for the parts.
One of the most impactful scenes in this film is where Elizabeth and Mary meet face to face. This also isn’t historically accurate as there is no record of the pair actually meeting but then again there is no proof that they didn’t meet. As in the film, they meeting in secret which is very plausible. To get the most out of the actresses, Rourke got them to stay apart while shooting and this moment is the actresses meeting for the first time. This technique has been used before, for example, Jerome Robbins who directed the 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story also kept the actors playing the Jets and the Sharks apart during rehearsals to create an air of animosity that would translate on stage. This technique is used to get the actors in the mindset of the characters that they are going to play so that even if they have nothing in common, the actor can at least relate to the character. Something else that I admire about this film is that it normalises women having periods and female pleasure which is uncommon in period films, let alone films in general. Rourke fought for these scenes to be kept in the film when the editor wanted to cut them in the final edit and the reason being is that women don’t know what it's like to be a monarch but we do know what it feels like to be a woman who has to fight for the rights of our bodies.
The reason that this is one of my favourite films is a combination of what I have said above. It’s the facts that Rourke could have gone for an easy and safe ruin by casting all white actors, following history to a T and leaving out the taboo topics. But with the full support of Working Title Films, she was able to make the film that she wanted and tell the story of Mary Queen of Scot how she thought needed to be told. I feel like it wasn’t recognised enough as its only accolades were in score and costume/makeup. However, I think that it'll pave the way for more period dramas that aren't “authentic” to the time period. We are currently seeing the start of this in Bridgerton (2021) a period drama TV series on Netflix which portrays wealth aristocrats as not only white families but black as well as so far, there has not been an outcry of inauthenticity. Overall, as Rourke’s first-ever feature film, I think she had amazingly and I can't wait to see what she produces next.
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