Definitely Not The Comedy It Was Marketed To Be

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2019)

Olivia Coleman performs superbly as Queen Anne in this period drama that was somewhat deceptively and misleadingly marketed more as a comedy which it definitely strains at accomplishing such a designation. Instead this strongly more somber and serious drama with mild interludes of humor should be expected as such when viewing this movie. The photography is striking in its bold and sharply projected visual impact, reminiscent of amazing camera work from This is Cinerama (1952) and Brainstorm (1983) both very still relevant in today's photographic approaches to visual artistic endeavors. The background music and sound effects are eerily similar to the more creepy and sinister motif of the Under the Skin (1983) and cast an odd off-balance mood during the movie, definitely off-setting the supposed comedic tone of the film. But it is in the presentation and scripted story that the more graphic and decadent, sometimes even raw and gross behavior of the Royal Court that oozes out of the movie that can captivate the audience with its voyeuristic behind the scenes purveyor of sordid delights. The movie jumps around a bit with its editing and its characters eventually are not that endearing making this movie somewhat less appealing then the typical and much more traditional movies that attempt to capture the vicarious mood of Victorian England.