Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004)

"Remember, remember the 5th of November ...". Yup, the title relates to that. Not to "V for Vendetta" but to the real historical source of the rime = the plot meant to kill King James I of England and Scotlans in 1605 AD. I don't really know where to start from. I've probably watched one of the most .. weird .. filmic production in a long time. But let's try to disect somehow the subject of this so called two part mini-series, although "Gunpowder, Treason & Plot" is actually only the last half.

The first part presents the most vivid period of the reign of Mary - the Queen of Scots. Some historical background: she was the closest rival ruler in geographic terms of the much more known (and put on film) Elisabeth I. I don't want to get too much in details, because that's the movie's role, but what I can tell from my minimal general knowledge in that area, what is presented is decently accurate compared to the truth. A catolic queen, arrived from France after her mother's death, Mary didn't have the easiest rule in a protestant Scotland, and also not a very bright end to it. But she had a son, unlike the rival from the South, which son is the subject of the second part ...

The second part looks like a completely different production. Not a single character from the first half is present for more than a couple minutes. It's true that we have a gap of quite some years between the two (after a pretty abrupt ending of the first part). But besides that there are enough elements that would make me double check if the production team was the same. I'll leave this for later and get back first to the subject. As said before, Mary had a son, James, who in the context of no other direct heir of the England throne, got the crown in London based on the British monarchs genealogic tree. Of course, the main event consists in the gunpowder plot caused by the religious tensions. Sort of ironic, if Mary got to deal with the protestant opposition, James was close to be killed by the catholic resistance. But for more details, see the movie.

I'll get back to the weird part, as I characterized the production. The script differs a lot as style between the two parts. If the first looks relatively close to a history book, the second allows itself more building an evil devious portrait for James which seems slightly exaggerated compared to what seems to have been in reality (although, here and there, especially towards the end, the production leaves some humanity to get out from him too). Well, I don't know much on UK history anyway ... We have intrigues, assassination attempts, etc = the complete menu also in the first part as a historical drama. The second starts as a History Channel documentary in which the characters speak to the viewer from time to time to update to the news of the moment, after which it turns (more or less as a nuance) towards a dark comedy with a grim dry humor that's felt quite often. It might sound surprising .. but I guess this actually saves the not so good script. The differences continue .. In the first part we have a torid and tensed loved story involving Mary, in the second we have a cold and pragmatic marriage with a Danish princess (= we get three kids, after which you can get lovers), but the relation finally gets a certain charm for which I'll leave the movie to say more (although again, I tend to think that the historical accuracy is pretty thin on this matters).

I don't know what final verdict to give. The script varies from abysimal to extremely bright lines. I forgot to mention the actors - I noticed Clemence Poesy for the first time (although theoretically I've seen her before in "In Bruges" or "Harry Potter", but I must have been blind). For the rest, Kevin McKidd and respectively Robert Carlyle capture the screen in each of the two parts. Well .. overall it was an interesting movie experience, relatively different from everything seen as a history production by now (if we take the two pieces together). And as additional factor, it deserves to be seen at least as a documentary if you want to find more about the origin of "Remember, remember the 5th of November .." .

Rating: 3 out of 5