Actor Margot Robbie is styled by Camille Bidault-Waddington in ‘Queen Margot’, lensed by Yelena Yemchuk for Porter Magazine #30 Winter Escape./ Hair by Bryce Scarlett; makeup by Pati Dubroff
Robbie will debut in January 2019 as Elizabeth 1, playing opposite Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart in ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’. The story centers on Mary Stuart, Elizabeth’s cousin and rival, in which woman is the rightful heir to the Scottish and English thrones.
Robbie has attracted considerable attention in her physical portrayal of Elizabeth 1, who has already been portrayed on movie screens almost 20 times. “Wearing a frizzy red wig, with chalk-white skin and a cluster of facial scars covering her cheeks and chin, Robbie was unrecognisable”, writes Refinery 29.
Director Josie Rourke said Elizabeth’s physical appearance was to find the vulnerability and humanity in a woman that would go on to reign over England for 45 years. In reviewing the film, Rolling Stone praises Rourke, writing:
“ And due credit to debuting director Josie Rourke for keeping the camera on the move and not simply relying on her theatrical chops as the artistic director of London’s Donmar Warehouse. Until their climactic, let’s-use-our-poetic-license of a get-together, teasingly staged amid flowing curtains, Mary and Elizabeth operate out of separate spheres while they side against each other. The irony is that the two queens were kindred spirits, irritated at all the controlling men telling them what to do — like, for example, Mary’s half-brother, the Earl of Moray (James McArdle). “
Rolling Stone continues:
“The film succeeds best when it shows how in times more conducive to the friendship of women in power the two queens could have been sisters under the skin. Ronan (Lady Bird) and Robbie (I, Tonya) were both nominated for a Best Actress Oscar last award season, and even when the pace of the film falters, these two performers hold you in thrall. That’s royalty.”
