Lady Jane is directed by Trevor Nunn, is written by Chris Bryant and David Edgar and has music by Stephen Oliver. The film stars Helena Bonham Carter, John Wood, Cary Elwes, Michael Hordern, Patrick Stewart, Sara Kestleman, Jill Bennett, Warren Saire and Jane Lapotaire.This film tells the story of one of Britain's most tragic monarchs, Lady Jane Grey, who was known as the nine day Queen. This film captures the cruelty and violence of the Tudor court very well. To survive you had to be strong and ruthless, the strong closed in on the weak and innocent and used them. I love how often characters allegiances change in this film. Watch the minor characters, one moment they are loyal to King Edward and then to Jane and at the end of the film they show up again now loyal to Queen Mary. Whoever had power at one moment the Lords and Ladies flocked towards, if that person lost power they were abandoned just as quickly. The young King Edward VI(Warren Saire)is dying. His guardian the scheming John Dudley(John Wood), is trying to decide who will succeed the young king. Dudley decides the throne will go to the great niece of King Henry VIII Lady Jane Grey(Helena Bonham Carter). Dudley marries off his youngest son Guilford(Cary Elwes)to Lady Jane, he intends to persuade Guilford to influence her so he can use the young couple as puppet rulers carrying out his orders. Jane however is an independent and strong young woman, she will not be controlled easily. Jane is also a complete innocent, she doesn't want the throne and has no interest in Tudor politics. It is so sad to see how she is used. Jane's mother Frances(Sara Kestelman)is even worse than Dudley, she is interested only in status and power, she forces her daughter to accept the crown and turns her back on her when things do not go as planned. Jane's father Henry Grey, the Duke of Suffolk(Patrick Stewart)goes along with the plan, but only to a certain point and he doesn't abandon his daughter in her time of need.Jane is crowned but will only reign as Queen for nine days. Princess Mary (Jane Lapotaire)demands the throne as her right as the daughter of King Henry VIII and the sister of King Edward VI. Mary calls Jane and her supporters traitors.The relationship between Guilford and Jane was apparently not as loving as the film depicts. Cary and Helena work very well together though and portray their characters as what they were, teenagers who were thrust into something they had no wish for. They hate each other at first but as the film goes on they fall in love and their relationship becomes very poignant. When Jane becomes Queen she does try to do things that will help the poor and bring some joy to the country. I love the costumes and the period design. The score by Stephen Oliver is one of my favourites and it is very moving. The cast are all excellent. Helena gives such a powerful performance, conveying the innocence of Jane and her strength of character. I love her reaction when she screams for Guilford after she has been crowned, she can't believe what is happening and is terrified. Cary is charming as the fun loving Guilford. I love the final scene between him and Helena in the tower, they are both so moving. John Wood gives one of his best performances as the scheming John Dudley. He conveys so much with just a look and he's fascinating to watch throughout the film. I love how he acts like a loving father to King Edward one moment, then the next coldly instructs the doctor to keep the king alive in great pain until he has signed the new accession document.Warren Saire is moving as the tragic Edward. Sara Kestleman is cold and ruthless as Jane's mother. Jane Laptaire portrays Mary as a dignified woman, strong and determined. Mary knows how Tudor games are played and knows how to survive. The scene where she warns Jane to take care shows that Jane was not as strong as her sadly, so she couldn't survive that life.Michael Hordern delivers a touching performance as the kind Dr Feckenham, who is the only one besides Edward VI and Guilford to treat Jane with kindness.I like the film very much but would have liked to have seen more of Jane's nine days as Queen. A must see for anyone who loves films about the Tudors.

I give this film a 7 our of ten with an important caveat-it is far more inaccurate historically than any decent historical film should be. I am not talking about the small kind of details than many historically oriented people might complain about... I'm talking about the major details such as the focus on reforming the shilling, which is made to look like a major accomplishment of Jane's even though it did not occur at all in her very very short reign. Most of this film is completely fabricated, from the depiction of her personality to the relationship with her husband. The only thing that is true is that she was used as a pawn by people around her who wanted a protestant queen instead of Catholic queen....and their misuse of her in this plot cost her her life. In all likelihood, so much of the biographical details are fictionalized because we have so little information on what she was really like.The reason I give the film so high a rating is that its a total guilty pleasure for someone who likes a a bit of historical drama. Helena B-Carter is great as a a Jane that is willful, but both strong and vulnerable at the same time She's a pleasure to watch in this, even if we have little information to suggest how Jane herself was. I also like the complexity of the relationship with her husband, even though by most historic accounts, he was a drunken louse and there's no reason to believe they won each others hearts as they did in the film. In short, this is a reasonably well written and presented historical drama, even if not a great representation of Jane and her life.

Trevor Nunn directed this true historical account of the circumstances that led to the succession of the royal throne of England in the 16th century. Helena Bonham Carter plays 15-year old Lady Jane Grey, who is pushed into the throne by royal ministers after the death of King Henry the VIII. His son Edward is dying, and the reform-minded ministers do not want the Princess Mary as queen, because she is catholic, and Jane is protestant. Jane is forced to marry Guilford Dudley(played by Cary Elwes) to be Queen, but they do eventually fall in love, and decide to institute further reforms, which alarms the ministers, and seals their fates, as Princess Mary is leading her forces to usurp Jane... Fine cast and production in this handsomely mounted and interesting film. Certain historical facts may have been tweaked, and it is a bit long, but overall it works, with a moving ending.

There you are, quite happy reading books, living a quiet privileged life because you are closely related to the king of England your name is Jane and you are 15 years old.Then one day the scheming lord of Northumberland has a cunning plan, the young king is dieing, next in line to the throne is Mary who is a Catholic and we can't have that, too much blood has been spilt moving away from this religion. So the next best thing is to get Jane on the throne of England, not a Catholic she is ideal and can be controlled by her not so nice mother. Just to make sure he marries Jane off to his son Guilford, who he thinks he can control.This proves to be a big mistake for the two fall in love and with the idealistic fervour of youth decide that all is not right with the world and what they would do to change it. Only when Jane is called to London do they realise what has been planned all along, this sends them into a frenzy of planning for the future to make it a better world for all.Sadly with only nine days as Queen she doesn't get much done and is soon carted off to the tower with Guilford, tried and finally executed.So that's the story in a nutshell, the cast do a fine job of the acting, especially Helena Bonham Carter for whom this was a break out movie. There are some touching moments the scene on the scaffold, the love scenes between the two leads. I like the fact it asks the question, how much better would it have been if the country had a Queen like Jane wanting to make things better instead of Mary a bitter old woman. Though I doubt a child of 15 would have been able to overcome all the Lords in her council and change anything, but it's interesting to wonder.I do remember from my history lessons at school that Guilford and Jane never liked each other, as the film portrays, but that does not take away from the fact that these two young people, he was only 17, were pawns in a plan to take the crown of England. Even at that time when the young grew up quickly, Henry V11's mother was 13 when she gave birth to him, this was surely something would have never planned themselves. Even though it does not follow history to the letter it is still a good film that has enough facts to make it interesting to you history buffs out there. Where it really works is as a love story, captured with style by Trevor Nunn. With the constant appetite for period dramas this could if re made well head all the way to the Oscars.