Julianne Moore leads this lasciviously gender fluid period drama about the slow seduction of King James I by young Jacobean buck George Villiers, under the tutelage of Moore’s scheming matriarch, Mary. Based on a true story, director Oliver Hermanus blends sensual colour schemes, pulsing soundtrack and raw scars-and-all period details to backdrop the rivalry, violence and occasional orgy that throws the King James Bible into a whole new light. Nicholas Galitzine excels as the pouting mother’s boy who learns how to use his beauty. Tony Curran’s mild, manipulated King James tugs the heart strings and Niamh Algar steals the show as Sandie, the hooker who captures Mary’s heart, body and sense.