Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) has fallen on hard times thanks to her dissolute father. She opts to seek aid from her distant cousin, Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), who happens to be the current favorite of Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman). Sarah is married to the Duke of Marlborough, England's leading general in the War of Spanish Succession. Taking pity on her cousin, Sarah places her in the kitchen. Abigail is not content. She is ambitious and sees opportunities to come to the queen's attention Sarah soon finds that she has a rival for the queen's attention and her status as favorite might not be as secure as she thinks.
The movie is based on history though it is compressed for dramatic purposes. Emma Stone is quite good as a sometimes sweet but more often conniving courtier. Where Sarah had declined to destroy her cousin when she had the chance, Abigail was not so kind. It is not quite as funny as the trailer led one to think it would be. Yes, there are big laughs but mostly it is drama. Abigail was fun early on but her treatment of her husband is hard to overlook. She is the worst sort of gold digger and one has no sympathy for her hardships thereafter.
Sarah, as the victim of her own charity, comes off better though still not admirably. Her manipulation of the queen is constant. She wants the war to continue and bends the queen's ear in that direction. She makes sure the queen is unavailable to meet with Harley, leader of the opposition in parliament, who wants to make peace with France before the war bankrupts the nation. Sarah proposes tax increases to the queen and even drafts the bill.
The movie proposes lesbianism among the queen and her favorites. There is no hinting; it is graphically shown. Emma Stone has her first nude scene here. Abigail wins the chase for favorite thanks to greater willingness to please the queen sexually. This could have been completely excised and it would have improved the movie and not besmirch Lady Sarah or Queen Anne. When I took English History at the University of Iowa, somehow Queen Anne's lesbianism wasn't mentioned.
Harley (Nicholas Hoult) steals every scene he is in. He is a politician's politician, a matchless jerk, and a skilled manipulator. He assists Abigail's rise because he doesn't like the war. Sarah, whose husband fighting the war, has the opposite view. He doesn't give a whit what Abigail wants except as far as it advances his goals. He treats her with contempt and amusement.
Queen Anne ruled from 1702 to 1717. She was only 49 when she died. Her father was James II (1685-88), who was grandson of James I (1603-1625). James I was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots. Anne was the last of the Stuarts to rule, though several efforts to restore the line were made following her death. The remaining Stuarts were barred from succession because they were Catholic, thus George I of Hanover succeeded Anne.
It has it's moments but fell well short of expectations. However, it is far, far superior to Mary Queen of Scots.
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