Outside of its breathtaking exteriors of the Scottish countryside, it lacks any visual charm. Even its costumes and interiors pale in comparison to other period dramas, especially the all too superior The Favourite (which you should see instead). Mary Queen of Scots manages to be unremarkable in pretty much every aspect, despite having two great talents at the forefront. Rourke and screenwriter Beau Willimon smooth out this tantalizing story with too much #MeTooisms that it falls victim to the same notion of martydom as its central heroine, and it leaves you largely unmoved. On the contrary, its incorporation of people of color is much appreciated, but the script doesn’t give them much to do.

The film really skates by on the performances of its two leads, both of which flex their ability and commanding presence; however, there’s no aspect to either performance that can hold a candle to their work in last year’s Lady Bird and I, Tonya. Robbie, who is not given enough screentime, manages to find some complicated humanity in her unhinged Queen, and Ronan is fierce as always. It should come as no surprise that the best part of the whole film is the one scene where both actresses appear together (something that never actually happened). It’s the one moment where the emotionality of the performances hit home and the direction and blocking become visually engaging; however, its quite literally too little too late, as it comes at the last 15 minutes of the production. It’s too long of a journey for such little pay off, and it seems to rush toward its conclusion after much meandering.