Lady Jane (1986)

With my trend of watching old movies, I decided to re-watch Lady Jane. A 1986 historical drama about Lady Jane (Helena Bonham Carter) and her nine day reign with her beloved husband Guilford (Cary Elwes).
It is taken like a 1980s movie, and there is quite a lot of great acting, kind of like a play. The costumes are representative of the 1500s and the language seems to mimic formal english of the past.
In essence, the movie however, is not really about Lady Jane. It does depict her as a young, pure and feisty girl who is trapped in a rotten political quagmire driven by religious differences between her parents and the threat to the throne (Queen Mary).
In an effort to bring back Protestantism as England's primary faith, John Dudley, Duke of Nothumberland manipulates the ailing young King to sign a will that would bequeath the throne to Lady Jane. He establishes a holy matrimony between Lady Jane (who is so young - sixteen) and his youngest son Guilford. The movie catapults on this relationship.
A more appropriate title for this film should be "Lady Jane and Guilford". The majority of the movie evolves their relationship which at the start was cold, into them being kindred spirits. They have conversations about justice, poverty, the worth of a shilling, and religion. One thing that was not clear to me in the movie was whether Guilford shared Jane's faith in God. Maybe he did, but it seemed that he was more championed towards civil rights and hated priests and the corrupt church.
When Lady Jane hears she's queen, she reluctantly takes the crown at Guilford's urging, and they both try to pass many of the policies they believe in. It is enchanting how they are so young, yet revolutionary in their thinking and ahead of their time.
Eventually the movie ends ****SPOILER ALERT*** in tragedy, but with a poignancy that leaves you wondering how many talented, and inspired minds were shut down and undervalued in a time when bigotry and royalty reigned.
This is a great movie. It could be better titled, but it definitely is worth a watch if you enjoy historical dramas and want to re-visit them.