Alicia Vikander is unleashing all the fire and the fury as Queen Katherine opposite Jude Law‘s King Henry VIII.
The two star in “Firebrand,” which debuted at Cannes 2023 and marked director Karim Aïnouz‘s English-language debut film. During war-torn Tudor England, Katherine Parr (Vikander) reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII (Law). Katherine hopes that her fate is different from her predecessors, the queens who were either vanquished, beheaded, or died of non-murder causes.
After their union, Henry appoints Katherine as Regent, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas. Yet that power makes Katherine a target as Henry’s courtiers begin suspecting that she’s sympathetic to radical Protestant beliefs. Once Henry returns to England, his courtiers convince him to convict a series of Katherine’s confidantes with treason and burn them at the stake.
Eddie Marsan, Sam Riley, Simon Russell Beale, and Erin Doherty co-star.
Law said during a Cannes 2023 press conference that he wanted to smell like “puss, blood, fecal matter, and sweat” to fully embody the lore of King Henry VIII.
“I read these several interesting accounts that at this period, you could smell Henry three rooms away because his leg was rotten so badly. He hid it with rose oil,” Law said. “So I just thought it would have a great impact if I smelled awful. I went to this brilliant perfumier. She makes wonderful scents. But she also makes awful scents. And she somehow managed to come up with this extraordinary variety of his puss, blood, fecal matter, and sweat.”
He added, “Initially I used it very subtly. I just sort of thought I would use it myself and that that would have an impact. When [director] Karim got ahold of it, it became a spray fest.”
“Firebrand” is written by sisters Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth, with additional writing by Rosanne Flynn. The film is produced by Gabrielle Tana and Carolyn Marks Blackwood.
Director Aïnouz returns to Cannes this year with erotic thriller “Motel Destino” which will screen in competition at the festival. “Motel Destino” is Aïnouz’s sixth Cannes premiere, with his 2019 feature “Invisible Life” winning the Un Certain Regard award.
“Firebrand” premieres June 14 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
