Watch the Mary Queen of Scots trailer and lament that you have to wait until winter

Although the title might be dedicated to just one queen, Mary Queen of Scots promises to show both sides of the story of Elizabeth and Mary.

Normally, a movie like Mary Queen of Scots would deserve the title of Oscar bait. After all, you have two particularly famous historical figures, a juicy story, and two actresses who’ve earned a lot of praise in the last few years for their acting talents.

This isn’t to say that the trailer doesn’t make it clear that this film is still pretty clearly the kind of movie that earns Oscar nominations. But those two actresses are also Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, and the story is one of two women trying to operate in a man’s world. Are there a few heavy-handed lines to that effect?

Well, yes. But luckily, most of the focus is on Ronan and Robbie, and they deliver. Each has a challenge with their character. For Ronan, it’s remaining engaging and showing both the positive and negative behaviors of Mary. For Robbie, it’s contending with the idea of a woman beset by the pressure to have a child while a younger woman “has it all” — baby and throne alike.

As far as we know, the two never actually met face-to-face. They did write to each other a lot, though. Of course, that wouldn’t let Ronan and Robbie engage at all, which would not help either of them…

So, of course, the trailer makes sure to let us know that they’ll have presumably one meeting, later in their respective lives, after Elizabeth has aged to the point of wearing a wig and powdering her face. (As the above link notes, they exchanged letters for over 20 years.)

That kind of dramatic confrontation is the kind of dramatic confrontation we’d like to see:

Next: 15 summer movies to watch with the comfort of your A/C

The film arrives Dec. 7.