The physicality of the relationship between King Henry VIII and his sixth and final wife Catherine Parr is strongly present throughout director Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand. This is a couple that’s always sparring, whether when having sex or fighting. The sex is ugly, since the primary mission is not love or pleasure but simple procreation. The fighting seems more fun, if no less taxing on both. They literally wrestle for power and for one’s survival over the other.
However, this is still a story that requires many scenes to be set in rooms, where the only action is talking about the future of the English throne. The screenplay fails to bring any ingenuity in structure or dialogue, thus diminishing the power of Aïnouz’s characteristically operatic filmmaking. Firebrand is filled with overripe cinematography.