- Network: AMC+
- Series Premiere Date: Dec 9, 2021
Critic Reviews
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Look, it’s not Wolf Hall. Nothing will ever be Wolf Hall again and although its shadow looms large, it looms unfairly and should be banished. On its own terms, Anne Boleyn works well enough.
-
Turner-Smith, the show’s star attraction, has a strong handle on the more arch dialogue, as well as Anne’s moments of quiet devastation. She's a good fit, too, for the show’s heightened soapiness.
-
“Anne Boleyn” is a cold retelling of the the English queen’s life that is only given life through Jodie Turner-Smith’s performance. Maybe if this had been a full-length series with more opportunity to expand the world out, there would be more reflection here.
-
Turner-Smith wears these moods as confidently as she does Anne’s extravagant gowns, weaving them together into a portrait of a woman equal parts frustrating and enchanting. Yet Anne Boleyn as a whole feels like a missed opportunity.
-
Unfortunately, the casting is the most exciting thing about “Anne Boleyn.” ... Everyone does what he or she can with an anemic script, notably Barry Ward as Cromwell, who has the bad luck to be operating in the shadow of Mark Rylance and “Wolf Hall.” But so is “Anne Boleyn.”
-
A provocative take, but by starting the story with the clock already ticking on her doomed reign, it's all downhill for Anne stranding a simmering performance in a curiously pallid rehash. [6 - 19 Dec 2021, p.9]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 1 out of 20
-
Mixed: 0 out of 20
-
Negative: 19 out of 20
-
Dec 9, 2021
-
Dec 15, 2021
-
Dec 12, 2021