Mary Queen of Scots | 2018 | R | – 6.7.3

Why is “Mary Queen of Scots” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence and sexuality.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some nudity, a few explicit sex scenes, implied sex and forced sex, a brutal and bloody murder by several men, a bombing that kills a man, a strangulation death and an implied beheading, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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After several movies about Elizabeth I, Mary Stuart’s (Saoirse Ronan) attempt to overthrow her cousin the Queen of England (Margot Robbie) finds its own treatment, chronicling betrayal, rebellion and various conspiracies. Also with Adrian Lester, Martin Compston, James McArdle, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, David Tennant, Gemma Chan and Jack Lowden. Directed by Josie Rourke. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in French with English subtitles. [Running Time: 2:04]

Mary Queen of Scots SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man and a woman kiss in a bed (they are clothed), she lies back and he kisses her chest, he moves his head between her legs and she moans and pants and whimpers when she climaxes. A wife unfastens her husband’s pants and straddles his lap (he protests), and she tells him to close his eyes and think of another man as she thrusts on him; he hits her hard across the face, she slaps him on the chest and shoulders, he picks her up and puts her on a bed where she lifts her nightdress and he thrusts from behind (we see her bare buttocks briefly) and hear thrusting and moaning. A man forces himself on a woman and we see him thrusting on top of her (we see his bare buttocks).
► A woman wears a sheer under garment that reveals a glimpse of nipples in a few scenes. A woman wearing a sheer undergarment lies in a tub and several women bathe her (we see her nipples and pregnant belly through the fabric). Two nude men lay in bed sleeping (sex is implied); one man gets up and we see his bare back and buttocks and the other sits up and we see his bare chest and abdomen. Many women throughout the movie wear period dresses that are low-cut and reveal cleavage. A woman’s dress is torn away and we see her wearing a simpler dress underneath that is low-cut and reveals cleavage and her bare back. A woman is dressed and undressed by her gentlewomen in several scenes.
► Two men kiss. A man kisses a woman’s cheek. A man holds and kisses a woman and reaches to her skirt before she says that she can’t and he stops. A man and a woman kiss in a stairwell and he tries to lift her skirt and she pulls away and excuses herself. A woman kisses a man’s hand. A man and woman lay in bed together talking. A man touches a woman’s chin tenderly. A husband and his wife dance at their wedding celebration. A man sits on another man’s lap and they laugh.
► A woman asks another woman if a man kissed her on the nose or the lips and they giggle. A woman talks about having sex with her husband (he is now dead) and that she looks forward to laying with another man. People talk about two women (both are queens) needing to marry and bear a child in order to stay in power. A man talks to a woman about being of a certain age, being unmarried and having no children or prospects. A woman ties to convince a man to marry another woman and he protests. A young man wears a woman’s dress and dances in a room with women; he tells one woman that he feels more a sister to her than a brother and she says, “Be whoever you wish with us.”
► A woman’s night dress is shown with a spot of menstrual blood on it and another woman says, “You’re early”; we then see the second woman wiping blood from the woman’s legs. A woman in labor is shown screaming and in pain and we see the child being born (she’s wearing a long dress, there’s a lot of blood and we only see the baby’s chest).

Mary Queen of Scots VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 - Several men march into a woman's chambers and grab a man by the arms, the woman shields the man by holding him behind her and two men stab the man in the back (we hear a crunch), and another man holds a knife to the woman's pregnant belly and she lets the man go; each of the other men in the room take a turn stabbing the man (we hear crunching, slashing and grunting) and he falls to the floor soaked in blood and we see his intestines out of his abdomen as he dies.
► An army on a ridge prepares to ambush another army on a road and bridge below: they charge down the hill and men on both sides fire guns and slash each other with swords (no blood is shown) and one man with a sword drawn charges on horseback toward another man with a gun on horseback and is called off before they fight.
► An explosion blows a building up and two men are thrown to the floor; one man lies dead with rubble and charred skin and the other runs outside where he is grabbed by two other men and strangled with a rope (we hear that he died). A woman steps onto a platform, her dress is torn away to reveal a red dress (presumably signifying martyrdom), kneels before a block and her neck is placed on the block in preparation for beheading; we see this scene again and a man with a blade stands next to the woman (we do not see the beheading).
► A man hits his son hard across the face. A woman attacks a man and hits him on the back while yelling and calling him names. A husband pounds on his wife's chamber door and when the door is opened it hits him in the face. A man grabs a woman by the arm and shoves her to a bed and he calls in her gentlewomen and tells them to undress her and he is then shown thrusting on top of her (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details). A woman wakes her husband in bed with another man (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details) by pouring wine on him.
► As a man preaches against a woman and many people in a crowd chant, "Death to her." A man yells at a woman and tells her to beg forgiveness from him. A man tells a woman that a civil war must be started in Scotland. A man yells at a woman. Two women argue by envoy about ruling a country and about succession throughout the movie. A man says that a woman's hope must be killed. A man yells at his half-sister and she sends him away. Men speak to a woman (she's a queen) in a dismissive manner and refer to her in derogatory terms. A man preaches against a woman as queen, against the Catholic religion and against the Pope. A woman ties to convince a man to marry another woman and the man protests. A woman yells at another woman to burn a picture. A man tells a woman that he would be proud to parade her head on a pike. We hear that a woman conspired against another woman's life and she was ordered put to death. We hear that a woman's father killed her mother.
► Men arm themselves and prepare for a battle. Men practice with swords. A man drops a glass that breaks and another man cuts his hand (we do not see blood). People wear masks that resemble dogs and they bark as they run around a wooded area.
► We hear that a woman is sick with "the pox," and we see her with badly swollen hands and blisters on her face, neck and hands (we see her later with badly scarred skin). A woman in labor is shown screaming and in pain; we see the child born with a little blood and goo on the child and a lot of blood is shown on the sheets on the floor around the woman. A woman on a beach falls to her knees and seems to be vomiting (we do not see goo but we hear gagging) after a trip in a boat. Blood is seen on a cloth, a nightdress and in a basin of water as a woman wipes another woman's' legs from menstrual blood. A colt nurses from its mother. A woman scrubs a floor from blood where a man had been murdered.

Mary Queen of Scots LANGUAGE 3

 - 8 sexual references, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (foolishness, weak, drunkard, papist, scourge, puppet, liars, bastard, cuckold, sodomite, adulterer, barren self, dog, murderer, failure, whore of Babylon, murderous harlot, traitor, wretched, strumpet, reckless child, woman), 3 religious exclamations (Passed To God, One True God, Against The Will Of God). | profanity glossary |

Mary Queen of Scots SUBSTANCE USE

 - Many people are shown drinking wine at a celebration, people at a table are shown with glasses of wine, people drink wine at a wedding celebration, a man drinks a lot of wine in many scenes and appears to be drunk in several scenes, two men drink wine together, and a man drinks a goblet of wine while fencing.

Mary Queen of Scots DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Royalty, Catholic vs. Protestant denominations, marriage, power, betrayal, disappointment, civil war, shame, fear, allegiance, sin, uncertainty, fate, tolerance, respect, deceit, jealousy, provocation, honesty.

Mary Queen of Scots MESSAGE

 - Power corrupts.