ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

Ravishing frocks and heaving bosoms are the main constituents of The Other Boleyn Girl, an entertaining bodice ripper lightly disguised as historical fiction. The frocks and bosoms in question belong to Anne and Mary Boleyn (Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson), bitter rivals for the affection of Eric Bana's brooding Henry VIII. Essentially, it's the Tudors with a Hollywood budget, a pitched battle between lush romanticism and vicious politicking.

Peter Morgan's screenplay, based on a florid novel by Philippa Gregory, portrays the Tudor court as an ermine-lined hotbed of flirting. Henry, resplendent in his inflatable shoulder pads, is a velvet-voiced Seducer in Chief. The king and his courtiers spend so much time bed-hopping it's a wonder they have time to run the country. Johansson's wet Mary, pimped out to Henry by her horribly ambitious father, is bamboozled by the political aspects of their relationship. She really loves him, unlike her manipulative sis, portrayed by Portman as the ultimate codpiece tease. It's well known that Henry split with the Catholic Church in order to marry Anne, but in this version he does it purely to get into her heavily embroidered pants.

"A CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE OF A MOVIE"

Director Justin Chadwick shoots in the ravishing style of an M & S commercial, lingering delightfully on food and flesh alike, while the soundtrack lays on the heavy portentous chords to remind us that – hey - someone's going to get their head chopped off eventually. It might sound tacky, but in truth The Other Boleyn Girl is shamelessly good fun, a chocolate truffle of a movie designed to appeal to the overseas heritage cinema market. Morgan's adaptation strikes a perfect balance between seriousness and melodrama, and Portman really throws herself into the complex character of Anne.

The Other Boleyn Girl is out in the UK on 7 March 2008.