DramaHistoryThriller

Firebrand

- Henry VIII had six wives. One survived.

Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, is named regent while the tyrant battles abroad. When the king returns, increasingly ill and paranoid, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival.

Release Date : 2024-03-27

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Brouhaha EntertainmentMBK ProductionsMagnolia Mae FilmsFilmNation EntertainmentRoadside Attractions

Production Country : United KingdomUnited States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Katherine Parr

Original Name : Alicia Vikander

Gender : Female

Character Name : Henry VIII

Original Name : Jude Law

Gender : Male

Character Name : Edward Seymour

Original Name : Eddie Marsan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Thomas Seymour

Original Name : Sam Riley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stephen Gardiner

Original Name : Simon Russell Beale

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anne Askew

Original Name : Erin Doherty

Gender : Female

Character Name : Cat

Original Name : Ruby Bentall

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ellen

Original Name : Bryony Hannah

Gender : Female

Character Name : Dot

Original Name : Maia Jemmett

Gender : Male

Character Name : El Farabi

Original Name : Amr Waked

Gender : Male

Character Name : Princess Mary

Original Name : Patsy Ferran

Gender : Female

Character Name : Princess Elizabeth

Original Name : Junia Rees

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prince Edward

Original Name : Patrick Buckley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Earl of Warwick

Original Name : Andy M Milligan

Gender : Male

Character Name : John Gates

Original Name : Edward Harrison

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jalida

Original Name : Mina Andala

Gender : Female

Character Name : Stowe

Original Name : Paul Tinto

Gender : Male

Character Name : Thomas Wriothesley

Original Name : Frank Howell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Leo

Original Name : Ashleigh Reynolds

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sir Anthony Denny

Original Name : Ian Drysdale

Gender : Male

Character Name : Courtier

Original Name : Julian Clapton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nicolas Robert Charcoal maker

Original Name : David Vickers

Gender : Male

Character Name : William Petre

Original Name : Joseph Aston Grant

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kings Guard

Original Name : Dan Fallon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Server

Original Name : Paul Candelent

Gender : Male

Character Name : King's Guard

Original Name : Mark de Freitas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Catherine Parr's Footman

Original Name : Darryl Lane

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bishop Gardiner's Footman

Original Name : Callum Sked

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joan

Original Name : Mia Threapleton

Gender : Female

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-09-07

This rather sumptuous historical drama starts off with a caption that tells us we are all taught from history books about men and war. That appears to serve the purpose of excusing what comes next from at attempts to reflect what little is actually known of Katherine Parr. She was the final wife of England's Henry VIII and was known as a woman who favoured the translation of the bible from Latin into English to broaden it's access by the people. She (Alicia Vikander) quickly finds a powerful enemy in Bishop Gardiner (Sir Simon Russell Beale) who strives to prove the point of her friend, the rabble-rouser, Anne Askew (Erin Doherty) that it's important to the clergy and, indeed, to the King himself (Jude Law) that the interpretation of God's word is left to those more qualified - and certainly more adept at controlling the message it might convey! With Askew's life in constant danger, the Queen tries to help and that brings her cat and mouse game with Gardiner to an perilous head for a women married to a distrusting man who still obsesses about having another son as as spare to Prince Edward (Patrick Buckley). What Karim Aïnzou has managed here is to create something that looks authentic. The attention to the detail is lavish and depicts court life in quite a potent fashion. From singing to savagery in seconds being quite the norm. The thrust of the story itself, though, is thin and really struggles to pad out the two hours. There are too many lingering close ups, the pace of the thing is glacially slow and even the most basic of the aforementioned history books tells you what does happen in the end, so the attempts at jeopardy - though they do sometimes illustrate that being queen offered her little protection from the scheming plotters eyeing the secession - falls a bit flat. Though I did quite like the idea of the denouement, it's not remotely plausible and that rather sums up this disappointing drama that's very heavy on the speculation and doesn't really give Vikander much meat to put on the bones of a story about a women caught up in the dregs of this despotic Tudor reign.