Royal blush

The new film - shown last year in Toronto and Locarno, and now at the Glasgow Film Festival - adds testimony to the enduring interest in the enigmatic, ill-fated queen who was executed by her cousin Elizabeth over 400 years ago. Last year's exhibition on Mary at the National Museum of Scotland attracted a whopping number of visitors; and the American television network CW is presently airing a show based on her life called Reign. An American-produced film on the monarch, reportedly starring Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones), is also in development, with whisperings of two British productions on the cards, too.

For now, Imbach beat them to it; and Rutherford's performance, following in the footsteps of Vanessa Redgrave's 1971 portrayal and Katharine Hepburn's 1936 offering, is notable. It's a storyline to die for, rousing strong emotions and creating divisive opinions. Temptingly, the tagline for the film is: "A queen who lost three kingdoms. A wife who lost three husbands. A woman who lost her head."

Hollywood couldn't make it up. Well, they could; but history is always more compelling. It is then left for audiences to decide: was Mary a Catholic martyr betrayed by the cousin she trusted or a murdering adulteress responsible for her own husband's death?

Rutherford and Imbach don't pick a side, although they lean towards a more sympathetic representation. As such, Rutherford's portrayal feels subtle, honest and modern. She doesn't let the plot overpower her character, nor let her natural beauty distract on screen. It seems Rutherford tried to be, well, natural.

"I just tried to bring myself to the role," she explains, speaking on the phone from Corsica, where she's rehearsing a play that she is doing in Paris next month. She says she is stuck in the middle of nowhere, near a very small village. Still, the typically European sound of motorised scooters can be heard whizzing past in the background.

"At the time [I filmed the role], I was quite young, very shy, and I didn't want it to be a cliché of an authoritarian queen or big historical blockbuster. I didn't just want to look pretty on a horse. I didn't want to act the typical queen with a big voice," she says, exaggerating the last two words loudly to show what she means. "I just wanted to be myself, because Mary was young when she arrived in Scotland and I like to think of her as a very sensitive person."

It's been two years since Rutherford landed the role while studying drama at the Conservatoire de Paris. Her agent called to say she had an audition, upon which she met Imbach, played out various scenes from the script and was called back for two days of shooting.

"And then after eight months, I got the part," she explains. It was only Rutherford's second lead role - her first being in French director Nicolas Klotz's 2011 film Low Life - and it was a coup for such a relatively unknown ingénue. "I studied Mary in history class when I was 16 so I knew a bit about her, but I really didn't know much," she admits. "So when I got the part, I read a few books and went to London to Westminster Abbey, where she is buried next to Elizabeth."

To date, Rutherford has only seen herself on the big screen as Mary once, at Locarno. "And, eurgh, I didn't like it really," she laughs, referring not to the film - which she likes, of course - but to seeing herself on screen.

Rutherford believes the continued fascination with Mary stems from the monarch's intriguing romances, relationship with Elizabeth and her 19-year imprisonment. "To me, she had an awful life - and that's why she's so interesting. She was a very romantic person and very singular in the way she struggled. Her life was horrible. Her first husband died and Darnley [her second] was killed. When she arrived in Scotland, everybody was Protestant and she was Catholic; she was a woman and the men didn't like her. I would've killed myself. She was also lonely, but she dealt with it. She was a very strong woman. I like to think of her as a feminist."

During all this, Mary seemed to fight for her private life. If Rutherford were to become a globally famous actress, would she do the same? "Oh yes, absolutely," she replies. Is that the dream? "I don't know if I want to be an actress all my life. I'm a bit lost. But we're all lost - it's just one of these things. Acting is a difficult job; it's a choice of life and I just want to do things I like."

For now, that includes film and theatre; and Rutherford likes working with her friends, most of which are in the industry. She would love to be in the position to handpick her roles but says she's not there yet - and isn't sure she ever will be. She concedes to feeling slightly disillusioned with her profession at the moment. "I'm a bit pessimistic, but I shouldn't say that," she laughs. "I think it's just part of growing up. I have to push myself and have more self-confidence and stop thinking too much. Follow my instincts and trust myself when I'm acting."

There is little sign of this self-doubt on screen. When it came to filming love scenes, for example, Rutherford handled them with aplomb. "At the time of shooting, I wasn't too nervous, so I just tried to be in the present moment and stop thinking. I don't like being naked of course, but it's part of the job. There are love scenes in all films, and sex and love are real life."

Rutherford was born in Paris to an English father (from Durham), who works for Michelin, the tire company, and a Parisian mother, who teaches English to young children. She encountered acting at age seven, growing up in what she calls "a bad district in Paris". Her school had a negative reputation and her teacher, in an effort to tackle the problems with the students, started giving them acting classes. "And that's how I started acting," she says matter-of-factly.

She acted off-and-on in her teens, before going to drama school after finishing the equivalent of her Highers. At 16, the same age Mary married her first husband, Rutherford says she was "the cliché of a freak: very tall, arty-farty, with short red hair, playing in a rock band and taking acting classes." She used acting to conceal her shyness.

Having spent every Christmas in England with her father's family, Rutherford's English is perfect - something, she says, that helped immensely with role of Mary. Would she like to act in the UK? "I'd love to," she replies. "But then I don't have contacts in the UK. But maybe it will happen one day..."

In future, she'd like to direct films. "That's my dream. And there are many plays I'd love to act in and film directors whom I'd love to work with. But I'm happy if anyone wants to work with me."

Where does she see herself in five years? After a long pause, she answers. "Happy. In love. Working. Doing edgy, interesting projects, not just for money." She counters this by saying she wouldn't do "edgy things" just for the sake of it, "but I like it when projects are strange and difficult."

She would love to leave France, but says there is no work elsewhere at the moment - although that might change, I suggest. "I hope so," she replies. "Acting is hard. Sometimes you have money, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you get parts, sometimes you don't. It's all about luck."

Mary, Queen Of Scots has its UK premiere at GFT on March 1 (4.40pm) and also screens on March 2 (11.15am) as part of the Glasgow Film Festival. Director Thomas Imbach will participate in a Q&A following the screening on Saturday. For more information and tickets, check www.glasgowfilm.org