You will love it ... or hate it.

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2019)

I loved this movie. I was aware that it pushed boundaries throughout that created an unease in the cinema so palpable I could feel it.
My take on the reason for this unease -
1. This is a movie about 3 women. None of these characters have a reference point to a male character in the film. Weisz' character is married, but her husband is secondary to the main plot.
2. The scenes are written from the women's perspectives. Behaviours, responses, dialogue, it all felt so authentically female. I think most people are so accustomed to watching media created from men's perspective that delving into a women's story seems inherently wrong.
3. The women used language that many people would find challenging.
4. There were lesbian scenes seamlessly threaded through the movie. There was no sensationalising, they weren't gratuitous, there were no men involved, the central character in the sexual triangle was a sick old woman. Sometimes the language around this dynamic was explicit and crude.
So, there you have it. Three women, one of them the English Queen, getting up to no good. If all the sex was hetero we would laugh at the jolly japes and call it a good romp.
Now, the film itself. The three actresses were extraordinarily good. I do hope Olivia Colman wins awards, as should the costume designer. The film is long but filled with intrigue, tension and action. The ending, as some others have said, is a bit nondescript and yet perfectly expresses where the characters have found themselves by the end of it all.
If you are open-minded and like a complex historical drama that's slightly offbeat, don't miss this one. I should add, I really really don't like slapstick, but the humour in this film made me laugh out loud with its absurdity at times. The dialogue is very sharp, very witty.
Also, just thought of one more thing, some of the reviewers were concerned that the English upper classes were portrayed as being barking mad. It wasn't an overbearing part of the movie, more a playful look at some of the stranger behaviours of the time, and that was pretty much a background to the wonderful main storyline.
I was delighted by this film.