Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Forget historical accuracy. Done that? Good, because "The White Queen" has very little, even less so than the books by Philippa Gregory upon which they are based. The sooner you accept that, the more you can enjoy a mini-series that doesn't claim to be anything but a loose dramatization of the War of the Roses, starting from 1464 with the meeting of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and ending with the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The time was ripe for a dramatization of the War of the Roses given the immense popularity of George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones and the subsequent HBO television adaptation, for the author has made no secret of how much this period of English history inspired his own work of fiction. In fact, for fans of the books, it's hard not to watch "The White Queen" without drawing correlations between the two: Henry Tudor's situation is very much like that of Daenerys Targaryen, whilst Robert Baratheon seems to owe his existence to King Edward IV. Cersei Lannister might well be a less-than-kind depiction of the titular White Queen, and even the emblem of the famous rose sigils of Lancaster and York can be found in the fictional Tyrells' standard. It stands to reason that if you enjoy one, you'll enjoy the other. But what "The White Queen" brings to the table is an emphasis on the women that were involved in the period, namely Elizabeth Woodville (wife of King Edward), Anne Neville (daughter of the man known as "the kingmaker") and Margaret Beauford (mother of Henry Tudor). Far from being passive observers to the drama, the mini-series makes good on its promise to depict the events from their eyes, and has them right in the midst of the intrigue and violence that characterizes this tumultuous period. Worth noting however is that this is not so much a miniseries about the War of the Roses, but an adaptation of author/historian Philippa Gregory's take on the events in question. Based on three of her books: The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter, various plot-points and characters are based on *her* specific understanding of what really happened, a relatively important distinction to keep in mind when you watch. Some historical figures are cast in an unsympathetic light (poor Duchess Cecily gets the worst of it, portrayed here as an embittered old harridan), whilst others can come across as noble heroes or helpless victims. Gregory's rather notorious reputation for distorting the facts to suit her favourites or to increase the levels of drama (seriously, don't believe *anything* you see in this show regarding Richard III's relationship with Elizabeth of York) means that everything seen here should be taken with a pinch of salt. But you could have probably assumed some degree of historical inaccuracy simply by watching. From the perfect skin and whitened teeth of the actors, to the visible drainpipes on the buildings and rubber-soled boots worn by the men, to the inexplicable decision to film the Battle of Bosworth FIELD in what is clearly a FOREST, there's not a huge amount of effort in keeping it realistic. But the main points of what became known as the War of the Roses are all touched upon: the controversial marriage of King Edward to Elizabeth Woodville, the Mad King and the Bad Queen, the on-going warfare between York and Lancastrian households, George of Clarence's execution, the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, Richard's stressful reign as king, and finally the invasion of Henry Tudor's forces. Emerging from the ensemble cast are several stand-outs: James Frain as a scheming Lord Warwick, Rupert Graves (best known as Lestrade from Sherlock) as the opportunistic Lord Stanley, and Rebecca Ferguson as the titular White Queen, who combines beauty and charisma with steel and fire. Veerle Baetens also has a small but unforgettable role as Margaret of Anjou. For me however, it's Aneurin Barnard as King Richard III and Amanda Hale as Margaret Beauford who really steal the show. Barnard's portrayal of Richard throws him into a far more sympathetic light than what we are used to, freeing the man from the most famous depiction of him as the black-hearted villain in Shakespeare's play. Here Richard is an honourable but conflicted man, grappling with a fraught political situation and driven to the edge by circumstances: the product of bad luck, wrong-headed decisions, treacherous counsel, and enduring rumours surrounding the disappearance of his nephews that he cannot be rid of. Hale depicts Margaret Beaufort as a terrifyingly fanatical woman, engrained with the belief that her son Henry Tudor is destined to be king and not afraid to stamp out anyone who might get in the way of that. Combining hypocrisy with sincere piety, ruthlessness with moments of regret, and godliness in the struggle against her own vanity, she ends up dominating every scene she's in. If there is one weak note it's that Henry Tudor is not given particularly strong characterization, and for such a pivotal figure in the drama he ends up too bland to garner much of an opinion of him one way or the other. Because of the format of the miniseries, several established characters drop from the action without warning once their roles are complete: Duchess Cecily, Margaret of Anjou and the Countess of Warwick are such narrative casualities, and you'll have to turn to Wikipedia to get an idea of their eventual fates. Likewise, the ending itself is quite abrupt, and it'll be interesting to see if Starz will follow through on its promise to adapt Philippa Gregory's The White Princess in order to continue the story of the surviving characters. Speaking of which, it's worth pointing out that the Starz and BBC versions of "The White Queen" differ in a number of ways. The Americans were treated to more racy sex scenes, but there were also a few other bits and pieces that were either deleted or added, including a scene that puts an entirely new spin on what was really going on between Richard III and Elizabeth of York. There's no doubt that even though the men are the movers and shakers, the women are the protagonists, with a particular emphasis on how they try to negotiate the pathways of influence and power. Whatever else you may think of the miniseries as quality television or as an accurate depiction of the period, I can appreciate that the women remain the focus throughout, something that's still rare enough in historical dramas to warrant praise.