Mary & George–Lust for Power

In the Starz historical drama, Mary & George, we see the fiercely ambitious Countess of Buckingham, Lady Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore), groom her extraordinarily handsome son, George (Nicholas Galitzine) to be the boy-toy of King James 1 (1566-1625)(Tony Curran).   This is not your usual mother-son relationship! Lady Mary, a formerly poor lower-class woman, has plotted and schemed to become a woman of noble rank through successive marriages to two wealthy aristocrats.  However, her fear that her original social status will be discovered by her enemies at court compels her to never give her strategic mind a rest.

Sexual politics is the major theme.  Audacious, brilliant, and salacious, Lady Mary outwits the nefarious men who wish to destroy her influence at court.   Her unparalleled ruthlessness is never matched by her enemies’ ignominious schemes.  

The Countess has perfected her knowledge and understanding of King James I, knowing he yearns for beautiful  young men in his bedchamber.   Suitors and ambitious courtiers continue to vie for the king’s wandering eye and capricious preferences. But no adversary proves victorious over  Lady Mary, who remains  undeterred.  The introduction to  the heinous backstories of Sir Walter Raleigh, Francis Bacon, and James’s son, who would become King Charles I, are eye-opening and revise conventional history.  

Mary & George is also a superb costume drama, filmed in colors mirroring Caravaggio in tone and macabre history.  And the entire cast is superb.  Nonetheless, Mary & George belongs to Julianne Moore, who owns the role of Mary, dominating the screen.  The complexity of the character of Lady Mary requires a multi-faceted approach to her, scene by scene, heartbeat by heartbeat. Animated by verve, nuance, vulnerability, and cold-hearted ambition and greed, Moore encapsulates the indignation, loss, and fight for survival in the slightest narrowing of her eyes or tightening of her lips. Nicholas Galitzine is no less riveting and a bit terrifying as we witness what he has learned from his mother.

No less tragic  in nature than a Shakespearean drama with King James I, Mary & George  is an indelible study of anti-heroes. This series is not to be missed!

Availability:  Starz

Note:  The King James version of the English Bible, published in 1611, was approved by this king, who was the head of the Church of England.  

Note 2:  Shakespeare lived during the reign of King James I.