It's a shame that everything collapses when the queens finally meet in a sequence that has all the heft of a gauzy Chanel fragrance spot.

In spite of being handcuffed by uninspired storytelling, [Ronan and Robbie] excel in communicating strength, vulnerability and isolation as two monarchs ruling in a man's world.

Few movies make a better case for reexamining the patriarchal historical truths we've come to accept than the impassioned, intricate Mary Queen of Scots.

Dramatic license is so much a given that discussions of authenticity are as damned as they are damning.