Firebrand is a mess, but Jude Law is great

Photo: Roadside Attraction/Everett Collection

By most accounts, Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, was an educated and independent-minded woman who published translations of books and occasionally clashed with the king's more suspicious sycophants. She was probably not quite the girlboss feminist played by Alicia Vikander in Karim Aïnouz's novel. Arsonistsecretly in league with heretics and revolutionaries and feverishly conspiring behind the monarch’s back, but no matter – films do not have to be based strictly on facts, and in a world where Six exists, so ArsonistIf only the film were a little more convincing.

Based on Elizabeth Fremantle's 2013 novel Queen's Gambit, Arsonist introduces Katherine during her reign, controlling the throne while Henry (Jude Law) fights the French. She makes military and financial decisions while listening to the fiery sermons of her old, dear friend Anne Askew (an unforgettable, screaming Erin Doherty), who rails against the divine power of monarchs and vociferously calls for a popular revolution. The fear and sadness that spreads across Katherine's face when she hears that the king is returning from his campaign shows that her marriage to Henry was not based on love or fidelity.

In the role of Henry, Law is a galactic and mercurial presence – by turns preening and bitter and needy and contemptuous, but always very loud. Yet we can sense his charisma. He is a monster, but we understand how this man held the throne for nearly four decades. The size of his personality is complemented by the breadth of his torso; Aïnouz keeps his camera close to the characters, so Henry always takes up an enormous amount of space, both physical and emotional. Even his infected, pus-filled leg seems to be an extension of the spiritual rot that seems to spread everywhere he goes.

The Brazilian Aïnouz is best known for her tough, heated melodramas, such as The invisible life of Eurídice Gusmão (2019) and Mrs. Satã (2002). This is his first English-language film, but he has not toned down his style too much: the depravity and frenzy of the court clearly appeals to a director who has always been fascinated by man's animalistic urges. He understands our depravity – he loves our villainy – and on one level, that works to his advantage in this story of incessant royal intrigue.

And yet, perhaps it wasn't quite the right approach for a film like this, which plunges us headfirst into this busy, hectic world but doesn't give us much context or reason to care about any of it. We struggle to keep up for most of the film. Arsonista film that rewrites history but doesn't bother to stop and explain what it's actually saying. And while the script and story spend a lot of time on Katherine, the film doesn't give Katherine herself any time to breathe. Vikander is busy and constantly in turmoil, but it's mostly a one-note portrayal of a one-note character who lacks imagination or vitality.

There's a lot crammed into this film, but it's in such a hurry to get through it all and not bore us that it… well, it bores us. We're lost, and it's obviously not meant to be. Characters and subplots flit by, conspiracies are breathlessly mentioned, and the whole thing ends with a very silly reference to the future reign of Queen Elizabeth I (Henry's daughter, much admired by Katherine Parr). The silliness isn't even the problem. If anything, the whole film probably should have been sillier, a fact that Law seems to grasp with his broad, energetic performance. At one point, about half an hour in, when Henry picked up his harpsichord and launched into a wild rendition of “Pastime with Good Company” (a real song, and a very popular one at that, composed by the real Henry VIII), it briefly occurred to me that the film might turn out to be a musical. Unfortunately, I was out of luck. And if Arsonist doesn't know what kind of film it wants to be, what hope could there be for the rest of us?