Although an acting tour de force, “Mary Queen of Scots” doesn’t live up to its potential.

We’ve always heard Elizabeth’s side of history, but in Mary Queen of Scots, we get to view this period through a different lens.

Mary Queen of Scots takes us into in the turbulent life of Mary Stewart (Saoirse Ronan) and her interesting relationship and rivalry with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie).

As a side note, I have always been deeply fascinated with this era in English history and had extremely high hopes when this film was announced. The story itself of Mary and Elizabeth is fascinating as is all history.

Mary Queen of Scots unravels this tale, however, results in a jam-packed, long-winded 2 hours and 4 minutes. I read earlier this year that this film would have had a greater impact as a mini-series for HBO or Showtime and I am in full agreement.

There was so much history, marriages, betrayals, and conspiracies stuffed into those 2 hours that we didn’t get the deep dive we needed. I wanted more.

What I could not get enough of were the performances by its two protagonists. Ronan, who is fabulous as ever, does a fantastic job portraying Mary while Robbie (who is practically unrecognizable. Major kudos to that makeup team!) absolutely shines as the complex Elizabeth. Their only scene together on screen is a brilliant master class on acting and I commend them for their performances.

Final Thoughts: Although an interesting period piece with fantastic performances, Mary Queen of Scots has too much going on and comes off stuffy rather than stupendous.