Overhyped, Pretentious Historical Fiction

Rating: 5/10 (23 March 2019)

Here's something that I've learned about myself, and it has a direct bearing on my enjoyment of a movie, and therefore my review; I do not like the current trend of "reimagining" actual, historical people with modern sensibilities. I highly doubt Queen Anne and the people in her court went around liberally dropping f bombs. Then there's the ballroom dance scene that my husband called 18th century "Dancing with the Stars". Actually that made me laugh, so maybe that's what was meant when it was described as a comedy. Call me uptight, call me old fashioned, I don't care. It bothers me.
Basically, Lady Sarah Marlborough, who is an actual ancestor of Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Dianna, was a childhood friend of Queen Anne and a trusted confidant and her personal assistant. She was intelligent, outspoken and did influence the Queen. This is all true. It is also true that her cousin Abigail was a Lady who fell on hard times and was taken in as a servant, and slowly replaced Lady Sarah as the Queens "favorite". I did a little light research on all of this and it is believed that Lady Sarah was pushed out because she was outspoken, domineering and blunt, as opposed to Abigail's softer approach. Serious historians "highly doubt" that any of the women were lesbians or sexually involved. I read that historical movies tell you more about the people that made it than the people and events they portray. Currently the mood in Hollywood is that men are weak and secondary, even when it comes to sex, and it's all about girrl power. That is the perspective this movie takes in telling the story, even though that's not what the reality was for these real people.
I gave the stars that I did based on the strength of the actresses and the elaborate costumes and settings.