I was pleased to hear that Olivia Coleman won Best Actress 2019 at the Golden Globe awards. She gave a superb performance as Queen Anne, the much troubled last of the Stuart monarchs. Anne's husband, Prince George of Denmark was a drunk and a crashing bore. She keeps 17 rabbits in her bedchamber, calling them “the little ones”, tragic reminders of the 17 children she lost, poignantly described as “Some were born as blood, some without breath, and some were with me a very brief time”.
Lacking confidence, overweight and depressed, riddled with gout, and plagued by suicidal thoughts Anne relies upon the advice of her friend and lover Sarah Churchill (Lady Marlborough). Brilliantly played by the seductive Rachel Weisz, Sarah is the embodiment of steely resolve, a fearless presence who keeps her enemies close, on the understanding that she may shoot them at any time. Anne and Sarah are inseparable, and when they were apart they corresponded using endearing fanciful names. Sarah was Mrs Freeman and Anne, Mrs Morley. Lady Sarah more or less runs the palace in harmonious partnership with the Queen.
This harmony is shattered with the arrival of Abigail, beautifully played by Emma Stone, subtly navigating the shift between innocence and determination. Abigail is Sarah's penniless cousin hoping to secure employment in the palace. Sarah sends Abigail to work in the scullery where a practical joke results in Abigail suffering severe burns on her hands. She treats these with a potion she makes from woodland leaves. This potion also soothes the pain of the Queen's gout, and before long the interloper has made her way into Anne’s bedchamber, where she soothes more than the Queen’s aching legs, prompting a power struggle for the Queen's attention.
Meanwhile the politicians are arguing about how to handle the war with France, poncing around in huge wigs and comical make-up, betting on duck races and pelting each other with fruit!
The settings and costumes are rich and stunning. The occasional, disjointed music created a very interesting edgy "What's going to happen next" atmosphere.
My friend M and I enjoyed every minute of it.
~Keep warm and well ~
Polly x
This is on my must see list.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy it Michelle.
DeleteI saw this yesterday, Polly, and had very mixed feelings. I thought the performances were fabulous. Especially Colman (but then in my eyes, she can do little wrong) but really all of them. And the production design and costumes (now on display at Kensington Palace for a few weeks!) are glorious. And the story intriguing. (I wasn't as big a fan of the soundtrack as you are). But I left -- not quite satisfied. Which bothered me, because usually when a film has that much good to it, I want to see it again -- and I just wanted to not. So, I went home and looked up the fact-check sites on true/false and the wiki site on the history of Queen Anne and then I was more bothered because it seemed as though they took a lot of leeway in telling the story. (Apparently Anne was still married at the time the movie took place and presumably it was a rather devoted marriage; she didn't have rabbits (which disappointed me because I thought the rabbits were a pretty cool idea but they were used as a story telling device). A few other things. It bothers me when historical films go fiction when they don't have to.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm still sorting myself out on this one. The theatre/film student/critic in me is filled with admiration (apart from the TOTALLY WRETCHED GRAPHIC DESIGN ON THE CREDITS.) Did you hear me yelling? Thank goodness for IMDB to look up who was in the thing. Worst graphics on credits I've ever seen. So, yes, the film ticked off many good boxes. But the history student in me was less enthused. (And they could have cut a good 15 minutes.) That said, I hope Colman wins the Oscar!
Hello Jeanie. Film makers to tend to wander a little way away from fact to tell a good story. I thought the addition of the rabbits was a nice little touch of pathos highlighting Anne’s sadness. Losing one child is tragic but to lose 17, the poor woman must have been in a terrible state, no wonder she was depressed.
DeleteI agree about Coleman, she is brilliant.
I thought it was sad that Lady Marlborough didn’t return.
Yes the credits were difficult to follow. We were trying to see where it was filmed. I looked online - the building was Hatfield House and some of the interior scenes were shot in the kitchen, gallery and Fountain Court at Hampton Court Palace x
I haven't had chance to see it yet, but on my never ending list.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy it mama x
DeleteI didn't watch it, but it seems very interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt is Krishna.
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