Andrew Smith

I understand that it was a character exploration of women in power, but the whole thing left me feeling flat and confused. By diverting from history it diverted from a sensible story line with a rational ending rather than an abrupt one. Stone and Weisz do brilliantly as supporting/main characters in their own aspect of the story, but they were let down by the script. Weisz was believable as a strong independent woman navigating the place intricacies of C18th court life. I had to remind myself several times that I was watching Stone as she became her character completely. I always think that you forget the actor when the performance is so good. Against these two great actors was Colman's performance as Queen Anne. She took centre stage in every one of her scenes and, again I forgot I was watching an actor working. Sadly, three great ingredients did not complete this recipe and I was left thinking what could have been.