"Mary Queen of Scots" was a pivotal film for Saoirse Ronan, transitioning her from an actress playing children and teenagers to playing the confident and assured monarch of Scotland. Ronan stars opposite Margot Robbie, who portrays the Queen of England, Elizabeth I, in this film that documents the historical feud between the royal cousins, resulting in Mary's execution. Its supporting cast also includes strong talent like David Tennant, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, and Gemma Chan.
Despite praise by critics for the performances of Ronan and Robbie, the film was only nominated at the Academy Awards for costume design and makeup and hairstyling. Some critics panned the movie's historical inaccuracies, as well as its failure to represent this real-life drama in an interesting way on screen. Vulture, for instance, called Ronan's portrayal "plucky" but regarded the film as an "awards-season, low-concept costume drama."
Other reviews, however, praised Saoirse Ronan's take on the Scottish queen facing destiny. The Guardian called her performance "fierce, sharp, [and] defiant," while the San Francisco Chronicle called her "instantly likable" and certain in her youth, which is definitely accurate to historical accounts of the child queen. Perhaps if the film had nailed its historical accuracy, critics would be able to revel in the performances of Ronan and Robbie, who are both electric, particularly when they finally come face-to-face.
