Dour-faced and double-chinned, Olivia Coleman paints an unflattering and hilarious portrait of the historically unpopular Queen Anne, who ruled Great Britain in the early 18th century.

Having since read a little about Queen Anne, who is less well known than her counterparts Elizabeth I or Victoria, I am still undecided on whether the portrayal of her in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ film, The Favourite, is a fair one.

It seems unlikely.

Historians have criticised her as strongly influenced by others, politically naive, fat and suffering from ill health.

Of course, historical records of this time were commonly made by men, and imbued with all the prejudice and entitlement of times gone by.

So I take that assessment with a grain of salt.

Queen Anne had some 17 pregnancies, but gave birth to just one heir who survived infancy - a son called William - who died of illness at age 11.

It seems she was not known for her political astuteness, particularly in a memoir penned by her former confidante The Duchess of Marlborough, where she was labelled “weak”, “fearful” and “very ignorant”.

As the Duchess fell out of the Queen’s favour, this could be a case of sour grapes.

Interestingly, I read Queen Anne attended more cabinet meetings than any other British monarch.

This seems at odds with the prevailing assessment of her character.

Coleman’s Queen Anne holds all the pompous power of the British monarchy at a time when its influence is waning and the power and of ministers is growing.

She is both tragic and comical, prone to emotional outbursts, and listlessly wanders her enormous bed chambers surrounded by 17 pet rabbits: One to represent each of her lost children.

Queen Anne seems disinterested in her role as monarch; eats until she vomits and then eats more; and suffers painfully from attacks of gout that afflict her legs.

Her friendship with the calculating Duchess of Marlborough, Lady Sarah (an excellent and brooding Rachel Weisz), seems the only thing to make royal life tolerable.

The relationship is much more than mere friendship, however.

Lady Sarah uses their midnight trysts to secure her own political interests with Machiavellian cunning.

She boldly manages matters of state on the Queen’s behalf, advocating war with the French and new land taxes in Parliament.

Queen Anne uses her sexual encounters with Lady Sarah to keep herself from tedium.

This unlikely power couple are unknowingly seen in the act by the manipulative servant Abigail (an excellent Emma Stone), who is desperate to regain her position as a lady after a fall from high society brought about by the death of her father.

Abigail fervently pursues the Queen’s favour using her newfound knowledge about the inner workings of this particular monarchy, even putting her body on the line.

This is a film about power and manipulation; and it’s fleeting nature.

It also hilariously challenges the notion of the monarchy and the idea of being born into power.

In one uncomfortable moment in Parliament, Queen Anne throws herself on the ground in a panic rather than speak her mind, or announce her planned decree about increased land taxes.

Meanwhile, one of the opening scenes features the gross cheers of the royal court as they bet and watch a duck race.

It is an ugly picture: Spittle flies from mouths in faces that are ruddy and fat; and bodies bounce in excitement as the ducks waddle around the course.

By comparison, the social-climbers Lady Sarah and Abigail seem genteel, cunning and clever.

The Hampton Court Palace and Hartford House in Hertfordshire provide the stunning backdrop of long, open hallways, dark corridors and curtain-framed windows.

Meanwhile, a nerve-rattling string score keeps time and builds tension like an unsettling and sinister metronome.

The music pulses and swirls beneath biting dialogue that is witty, dark and dripping with ulterior motives.

The costumes are stunning and the wigs worn by the men of Parliament are, although ridiculous, quite extraordinary.

Coleman is breathtaking and hilarious in the role of Queen Anne.

However, it’s the thrilling combination of Weisz, Stone and Coleman that make this film really sing.

Nicholas Hoult as Leader of the Opposition, Lord Harley, and Joe Alwyn as Sam Masham are also excellent.

The latter is particularly brilliant during a bizarre dance sequence with Lady Sarah.

This is a subversive and wicked film, with great performances.