Watching Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest film (his third in English and his first period piece), I was reminded of a young woman whom I once knew slightly and hadn’t thought of in decades, an articulate, pretty, graceful blond gold digger, who took her mother’s example to heart—to wit, it’s just as easy to marry for love and money as it is to marry for love alone. Luckily (depending on your level of cynicism) for her, this twentysomething Lorelei Lee’s wealthy drug addict husband obligingly died in a road accident while driving under the influence, leaving his widow very comfortably well off and ready for her next conquest.
Her rise from scullery wench to chambermaid is rapid after she gives the ailing queen an herbal salve for her debilitating gout. From then on out, Abigail will pivot between pain and pleasure as she inveigles to supplant the imperious Sarah as Anne’s most trusted confidante—and lover.
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. R, 129 min. In wide release.
