The Favourite (2019)

Costumer with a refreshing lack of that genre's conventions.

It's 1711 and England is at war with France, but Queen Anne of England (Olivia Colman) is unwell and depressed, comforted by 17 rabbits that act as a replacement for the children she lost. Her aide and secret lover Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) tries to influence her and – by extension – run the country. But this uneasy balance is upset when Sarah's younger cousin Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, and begins her own intense relationship with the queen... 

Director Yorgos Lanthimos takes this volatile situation and mines it for maximum drama and the blackest comedy. It's both horrifying and very funny. Shots are framed from odd angles, so that even someone walking down a corridor carries a sense of menace. There's also a highly effective soundtrack that uses elements of drones and ambient noise to build atmosphere – sometimes disturbingly so.

The acting from all three leads is first-rate, with Colman, Weisz and Stone delivering performances of a lifetime. You can totally believe all of them.

It's a sharp, intelligent and innovative film that should be treasured.

The Iron Lady (2011)

Not just a biopic of the British Prime Minister. It’s also a portrait of Alzheimer’s and mental decline, a history of late-20th-century Britain and a love story. 

Mark Thatcher comes out of it badly (as he did in real life), but Carol (Olivia Colman) and Dennis (Jim Broadbent) come across very well. Meryl Streep is highly convincing as Margaret Thatcher. It can’t have been an easy role to play. The film focuses on telling her story rather than passing judgement and as such seems very forgiving of her, despite offering plenty of evidence of the terrible damage she did.