10 incredible period dramas on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, that are anything but stuffy – VOGUE India

Sumptuous costume dramas can provide a much-needed escape in troubling times, but if youre tired of the usual assortment of airless parlours, manicured lawns and straight-laced suitors, there is an alternative: a subset of films that play with our expectations of the genre. Combining post-punk soundtracks with cross-dressing, lobster racing, colour-blind casting and illicit love affairs, they allow us to view history through a new lens and feel surprisingly modern as a result.

The latest release to join its ranks is The Great, a raucous retelling of Catherine the Greats rise to power starring a radiant Elle Fanning. Ahead of the shows global launch, we shortlist 10 lavish, quick-witted and gloriously unconventional period dramas to watch now.

Marie Antoinette, 2006.

Photography Shutterstock

With shopping montages set to 1980s pop, salacious masked balls and midnight wanders through Versailles, Sofia Coppolas account of the doomed French queens reign is gleefully subversive. As embodied by a fresh-faced Kirsten Dunst, she is an exuberant teenager who seeks solace from her loveless marriage in reckless hedonism. From the candy-coloured Manolo Blahniks to her ruffled silk ballgowns, the film is a visual feast that lets you revel in the pleasures of centuries past.

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

Wuthering Heights, 2011.

Photography Shutterstock

Elemental and erotic, Andrea Arnolds reimagining of Emily Bronts 19th-century novel drips with longing. It casts Solomon Glave and James Howson as younger and older incarnations of Heathcliffthe first time the Byronic hero has been played by black actorsand Shannon Beer and Kaya Scodelario as the wild and wayward Cathy. As childhood friends, they run through misty marshes and windswept hilltops together but as adults, their love soon proves to be mutually destructive.

Streaming on YouTube and available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

Belle, 2013.

Photography Alamy

A remarkable true story forms the basis of Amma Asantes swoon-worthy romance. It sees Gugu Mbatha-Raw play Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy captain. Born into slavery in the 18th century, she becomes an heiress who attracts her fair share of suitors, until an idealistic lawyer (Sam Reid) catches her eye. Their relationship marks Didos political awakening, as she considers her position in society against the people of colour who are still treated as property.

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

Lady Macbeth, 2016.

Photography Shutterstock

Its impossible to take your eyes off Florence Pugh in William Oldroyds steely Hitchcockian thriller set in 19th-century Northumberland. She plays a teenager who is married off to a tyrannical older man (Paul Hilton) and forbidden from leaving their estate. When he has to travel on business, she gets a taste of freedom, falls for a rugged groomsman (Cosmo Jarvis) and decides to take control of her life. The performances are haunting, the set decoration pristine and the tension rapidly rising.

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

Love and Friendship, 2016.

Photography Shutterstock

Jane Austens acerbic wit takes centre stage in Whit Stillmans social satire based on her epistolary novel Lady Susan. It stars Kate Beckinsale as a charismatic widow who is desperate to secure her future, and that of her young daughter (Morfydd Clark), by marriage. She travels from the home of one wealthy friend to another, decked out in plumed hats and silk capes, enchanting everyone she meets and plotting her next move. Expect big laughs, surprise cameos and a scandalous final twist.

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

The Favourite, 2018.

Photography Shutterstock

The 18th-century court of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) provides the setting for Yorgos Lanthimoss absurdist black comedy about power struggles and palace intrigue. Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone are delicious as the two ruthless favourites of the monarch, who try to outmanoeuvre each other at all costs. Their days are taken up with shooting practice, lobster racing, pelting men with fruit and slipping poison into unattended cups of tea. Best of all, there isnt a damsel in distress in sight.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Colette, 2018

Photography Alamy

Period drama veteran Keira Knightley shines as the titular French novelist in Wash Westmorelands love letter to 19th-century Paris. We follow her as she marries Henry Gauthier-Villars (Dominic West) and writes Claudine lcole, which is published under his name. Its success leads her to rebel, firstly through passionate love affairs with women and then by reclaiming her authorship. Her costumesstraw boaters, puff-sleeved blouses, louche suitingonly add to the films appeal.

Streaming on Netflix

Portrait of a Lady on Fire, 2019.

Courtesy MK2 Films

An artist (Nomie Merlant) arrives on a deserted island in Brittany at the start of Cline Sciammas mesmeric 18th-century love story. She is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of a troubled young woman (Adle Haenel) who is promised to a Milanese nobleman. Through the course of their sittings, the pair embark on a secret affair and dare to imagine a world where they could be together. The final product is as ravishing as it is revolutionary in its celebration of the female gaze.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Little Women, 2019.

Photography Shutterstock

Female ambition is at the core of Greta Gerwigs retelling of Louisa May Alcotts beloved classic. Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen are charming as the March sisters, freewheeling teenagers who put on plays, form a secret society and develop a keen understanding of the relationship between art and commerce. As they chase their dreams in New York, Paris and at home in Concord, Massachusetts, they transcend the limits imposed on the women of their era.

Streaming on Netflix

Emma, 2020.

Photography Shutterstock

Snarky retorts, fleeting male nudity and a proposal scene cut short by an unexpected nosebleed are just some of the elements that set Autumn de Wildes Regency romp apart from the average Jane Austen adaptation. Anya Taylor-Joy sizzles as the matchmaker at its centre who is determined to find an eligible bachelor for a new friend (Mia Goth). The suitorsJohnny Flynn, Josh OConnor, Callum Turnerare sultry, the pastel-hued interiors delectable and the costumes ostentatious.

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

7 period drama films to watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar now

11 historical dramas to watch as you wait for The Crown to return

6 intriguing Bollywood movies based on real-life incidents to stream on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and more

Original post:

10 incredible period dramas on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, that are anything but stuffy - VOGUE India