Firebrand: Jude Law is 'gloriously disgusting' in Tudor drama
'Vividly constructed' film looks at the life of Henry VIII's sixth wife, Katherine Parr

"Jude Law immediately joins the upper ranks of the great screen Henry VIIIs" with his "incendiary" performance in this period drama, said Kevin Maher in The Times. Adapted from Elizabeth Fremantle's 2012 novel "Queen's Gambit", the film "takes as its subject the closing, paranoid and increasingly incapacitated years of Henry's reign, and specifically his relationship with his sixth and final wife Katherine Parr (Alicia Vikander)".
We meet Henry in 1546, when he is "exhausted from the second invasion of France" and suffering from an ulcerated leg. "He seems a fiery beast initially, but one who is easily mollified by Katherine's attentiveness and her acquiescence in the brutal marital bedroom." Katherine, however, is depicted as close to, and possibly a former lover of, the radical Protestant reformer Anne Askew (Erin Doherty), a relationship which, if discovered, could cost her her head. "There are some silly 11th-hour shenanigans involving a MacGuffin necklace and a dose of historical wish fulfilment", but this is a "vividly constructed drama, expertly played".
"Firebrand" is "sumptuously photographed" and "magnificently costumed", and Law's performance is "so gloriously disgusting you can't take your eyes off him", said Deborah Ross in The Spectator. But be warned: the film "doesn't play fast and loose with the facts so much as throw them out of the window". And with its shots of oozing pus and maggoty flesh, it's not "for the medically squeamish".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As a historical thriller, "Firebrand" is "hampered by a pedestrian script and an improbable ending", said Phil de Semlyen on Time Out. Still, it "works pretty well as a political potboiler with the brooding undercurrents of 'Wolf Hall'", and it "catches fire" whenever Law is on screen.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Bryan Burrough's 6 favorite books about Old West gunfighters
Feature The Texas-raised author recommends works by T.J. Stiles, John Boessenecker, and more
-
'We need solutions that prioritize both safety and sustainability'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Book reviews: 'Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference' and 'Is a River Alive?'
Feature A rallying cry for 'moral ambition' and the interwoven relationship between humans and rivers
-
Bryan Burrough's 6 favorite books about Old West gunfighters
Feature The Texas-raised author recommends works by T.J. Stiles, John Boessenecker, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference' and 'Is a River Alive?'
Feature A rallying cry for 'moral ambition' and the interwoven relationship between humans and rivers
-
5 electrifying books to read this June to spark your imagination
The Week Recommends A love story set in space, a pair of ambitious debuts and more
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
Fast-and-furious zombies, serial killer sharks and a matchmaking conundrum in June's new movies
the week recommends Danny Boyle is back with '28 Years Later' and Dakota Johnson has a Sophie's choice to make in 'Materialists'
-
Ancient India: living traditions – 'ethereal and sensual' exhibition
The Week Recommends Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism are explored in show that remains 'remarkably compact'
-
6 well-preserved homes built in the 1930s
Feature Featuring a restored 1934 colonial in Arizona and a cold-storage warehouse turned loft in New York City