Cannes: Alicia Vikander On Playing Catherine Parr In Henry VIII Drama ‘Firebrand’
etcanada.comIt’s widely know that Henry VIII, the Tudor king, had a particularly grim batting average when it came to matrimony. His litany of wives, of course, are the subject of the current Broadway show, “Six”, and many other productions.
The wives’ succession of fates — two beheadings and three other deaths — has long loomed in the historical imagination. The new film “Firebrand”, which premiered over the weekend at the Cannes Film Festival, takes a different approach to a much-dramatized chapter of 16th century British history.
The film, directed by the Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, stars Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry and the only one to outlive him. READ MORE: Alicia Vikander Says She Was ‘The Most Sad’ At The Height Of Her Fame “Catherine Parr, out of all of the six wives I probably knew the least of,” Vikander said in an interview on a Cannes hotel terrace. “And it seemed like that was the general feel from everybody that I talked to.
The one woman who survived was the least interesting to know about.” “Firebrand”, adapted from Elizabeth Freemantle’s novel The Queen’s Gambit, has all the accoutrement of a lush period drama (Jude Law grandly co-stars as Henry), but it’s animated by a twist in perspective and a feminist spirit. “History tells us a few things, mostly about men and war,” a title card announces at the movie’s beginning. READ MORE: Jude Law Got Perfume That Smelled Like Blood, Fecal Matter And Sweat To Play Henry VIII In ‘Firebrand’ The film follows Parr as she negotiates a coarse, abusive husband while trying to have some role in shaping national affairs.
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