Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Gillies MacKinnon

Writer:

Jimmy McGovern (writer)

Release Date:

14 March 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Mini series depicting the turbulent and bloody reigns of Scottish monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots and her son King James VI of Scotland who became King James I of England and foiled the Gunpowder Plot. |

Plot Keywords:

King | Gunpowder | Mary Queen Of Scots | England | Queen

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Vulpe Adrian	...	Soldier
Carmen Ungureanu	...	Mary of Guise
Clémence Poésy	...	Mary, Queen of Scots
Tadeusz Pasternak	...	David Riccio
Maria Popistasu	...	Lady Marie
Catherine McCormack	...	Queen Elizabeth I
Steven Duffy	...	Lord James
Catalin Babliuc	...	Father Michael
Kevin McKidd	...	Bothwell
Emil Hostina	...	Bothwell's Lieutenant
Daniela Nardini	...	Lady Huntly
Radu Andrei Micu	...	Sir John Huntly
Iona Ruxandra Bratosin	...	Young Mary
Gary Lewis	...	John Knox
Garry Sweeney	...	Lord Gunn

Runtime:

205 min (3 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Raging Star Films

Quotes:

Bothwell: They know it was me. You must hang me, Mary.
Mary, Queen of Scots: What?
Bothwell: If you do not hang me, people will say we planned it together.
Mary, Queen of Scots: I cannot
Bothwell: You must Mary, for they will hang me anyway, they will hang me anyway!
Mary, Queen of Scots: I cannot!
Bothwell: Then you must marry me, for they will not hang the queen's husband.
[pause]
Bothwell: Marry me or hang me.
Mary, Queen of Scots: I'll marry you, I'll marry you.

Soundtrack:

Nu Gandeasca Tat Omu

Linear history

Given the pronounced anti-Catholic bias of most contemporary English history, one might think that any attempt to redress the balance might be welcomed. Alas, Jimmy McGovern's drama, 'Gunpowder, Treason and Plot', proves this not to be the case. Its greatest problem is its unfortunate tendency to encapsulate complex political issues in slogans, and those slogans, in turn, in characters - the portrayal of John Knox (who does little more than storm about and utter his most famous quote) exemplifies this. This, and the number of historical liberties taken (James I, for example, discovers the Gunpowder Plot in person) make the story a less accurate guide to the past than even 'Braveheart'.

The series is not helped either by some substandard acting. Clemence Posey, with her bizarre French-American-Scottish accent, is mostly inaudible as Mary Queen of Scots and seems to take most of the cues for her performance from Mila Jovovitch's disastrous turn as Joan of Arc in 'Messenger'. Sira Stampe is robotic as James I's wife, while Robert Carlyle's James is as unconvincing as he is unhinged. Also detracting from our enjoyment are the understaffed battle scenes, the histrionic tone, and a decidedly anachronistic portrayal of sexuality.

Surprisingly, given McGovern's own politics, there's almost no hint of republicanism here, although within a few decades Britain was engulfed by a civil war that disputed absolutely the relevance of monarchy: perhaps this is ignored because it was a Protestant rebellion. Instead, we get a boring, linear drama of good queen Mary, bad queen Elisabeth and mad king James. I'm still certain that somewhere, behind the propaganda, there's an interesting story - how did hatred of Catholocism spread so rapidly when only a handful of years previously, everyone in England was Catholic? But this film does little to open one's eyes.