Saoirse Ronan is Maria Stuart.
This may be a disappointment to many. Maybe the big fans already knew it, but the quintessential Scottish film (with permission of Trainspotting), was not shot in Scotland. "It's funny, but brave heart it was not shot in scotland despite being one of the country's great stories,” confirms producer Debra Hayward. The production about the Scottish hero William Wallace against the English occupation, winner of five Oscars, did not set foot on the land of which he spoke.
“But we were determined to shoot there,” Hayward continues, “even though it was a challenge to get a crew of that size, actors in period clothing, horses, chariots and weapons to some really remote sets. Maria toured Scotland and spent the night in many castles. We wanted to recreate her movements, as well as place the film spiritually and geographically in its country of origin”.
As tough and tenacious as Scotland.
mary queen of scots (premiere February 8), the new film of the most famous monarch of the Highlands, a film that had been trying to get ahead for years, was actually shot in the northernmost part of the island of Great Britain, despite its climate, despite its orography. And precisely for all that. “The Scottish landscape has a lot to do with the way of being of María Estuardo”, says Tim Beavan, producer. Maria is strong, stubborn, tough. Like her cliffs, her steep slopes, her insistent rain.
On the sixth day of her life Mary Stuart inherited the throne of Scotland, at the age of six she is sent to France to marry the heir, at 17 she was queen consort of France, at 18 she was widowed and reclaimed her Scottish throne which she had to fight for seven long years, against her own court, her own half-brother, against the Protestants and against her cousin, Elizabeth I of England.
A woman among (against) men.
The relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth of England has been the stuff of fiction, food for imaginative minds for centuries. Two women reigning in the sixteenth century in a world dominated by men. Maria decided that marrying and giving an heir to unify the kingdoms was her way of embracing her power. Isabel refused to marry in order to control everything. They were opposed, although less than what History has always wanted to tell us.
Among the latest discoveries, a letter from Elizabeth to Mary calling her "sister queen" (queen sister) has been found. Perhaps it was those men who surrounded them who prevented the meeting they so desired.
Landing at Leith.
Around this theory is built Mary Queen of Scots, with Saoirse Ronan as Maria (in a role she was offered when she was 18, seven years ago), and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth. And the locations and the sets were chosen as a test of her two ways of facing the world, of ruling. “In contrast, we wanted Isabel's world to be much more interior and we never see her on the outside. She is always in a formal setting, in an orderly court, while the world of Maria has a much more earthy texture." Beavan explains.
The two actresses also did not want to see each other during production, Robbie rolled first, then Ronan. They did not know what the other would look like until they coincided in the only scene they have together, that meeting that so many writers and historians have imagined.
For the Elizabeth scenes, Gloucester Cathedral made Hampton Court. For those of Maria, they moved throughout Scotland, against rain and fog. Only one day when they couldn't even see their hands they had to delay filming. The rest, that constant humidity from Scotland, carries over to the film.
Margot Robbie is Elizabeth I.
“It was enough to be in Glen Coe in the Highlands to feel the energy, it was amazing. Maria is connected to the earth, she feels that she is part of the world around her. It was amazing trying to convey that feeling while shooting in Scotland,” explains Saoirse Ronan.
Defending her throne, Maria spent her seven-year reign from one castle to another. She was **crowned at Stirling,** a historic royal residence, built atop a fortress-like hill. She though she officially chose the Palace of Holyroodhouse as her home, where she stayed from the time she arrived until she was forced to abdicate. Curiously, Today it is the official royal residence of Elizabeth II of England in Scotland. And so the interiors had to be recreated at Pinewood Studios in London.
It was in that palace that his assistant David Rizzio was murdered and under pressure **went to Edinburgh Castle,** where she gave birth to her son, James I of England and VI of Scotland, the one who unified the kingdoms, as her mother (and perhaps Elizabeth I) wanted.
The castle where Mary was crowned.
SLEEP AND DRINK LIKE A QUEEN
On the occasion of the premiere of Mary Queen of Scots, one of the most classic hotels in those lands, ** Gleneagles, opened in 1924,** offers a very royal experience: a three night stay in one of its signature historic rooms (David Collins Studio, Timorous Beasties, Macaulay Sinclair, Goddard Littlefair and Ennismore) with Guided tours of some of the most important locations in the film and in the reign of Mary Stuart. including the castles of Stirling, Loch Leven or Drummond (famous for its gardens) and the Linlithgow and Holywoodhouse Palaces.
And after the walks, a cocktail dedicated to Scotland's most famous monarch, Mary.
(The price of the stay for two people, three nights, with dinner, plus guided tours and cocktails starts at 2,850 pounds).
A cocktail named after a queen.