Bring on the Guillotine Chic

As we should, Fashion Week Mom and I typically differ on the type of Hollywood hunk that gets our reels going. She dreams of Dennis Quaid and Sam Shepherd, while I prefer the male cast of Friday Night Lights and even Michael Cera. But there’s one leading man that we both drool for, and that’s Eric Bana.

Ever since Munich, he stole our hearts with his sensitive but masculine stare and not-too-pretty boy looks. So when it came to choosing which movie we would see Sunday afternoon, it was a no-brainer: The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Bana as our King Henry VIII.

Bana makes a fine Hollywood Henry (still much more attractive than we’d imagine the true life king to have been, but gruffer and thicker than the slick Lucky You version of himself); Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson do a solid job as the Boleyn sisters; and 21 star Jim Sturgess beautifully plays the tragic role of brother George in a way that reminded us of Christian Bale’s Lawrie in Little Women (one of our biggest on-screen crushes of all time). Still, none of these performances is the scene-stealer.

That honor is reserved for the breathtaking costumes. Yes, period films frequently boast magnificent wardrobes but there’s something about these designs that seems both ridiculously regal and downright wearable. All by two-time Oscar-winner Sandy Powell, glorious bosom-shackling dresses with matching halo-crowns in rich colors look fresh and powerful, never heavy. And it helps that ultramodern actresses Portman and Johansson never hint at discomfort.

I’d wear a shortened version of the Portman’s blue brocade show-stopper in a second. The jewelry translates even more easily: long, cleavage-grazing strands of gold and gems and delicate earrings. The main attraction in was a pearl necklace with an oversized “B” medallion, worn by Portman. There’s no doubt it would make Flava Flav jealous, too.