Page 1 of The Great (Hulu)

I've been a fan of the younger Fanning sister since her scene-stealing performance in Super 8, but have been a little disappointed in her movie choices since. Neon Demon was style very much over substance, and Teen Spirit was so inconsequential I'd forgotten most of the movie half an hour later.

So to see her taking the lead in this quite lavish re-telling of the story of Catherine & Peter the great piqued my interest, and I'm glad I sought it out as it's bloody amazing. Elle plays the primarily niave but ultimately cunning Catherine (with a spot-on English accent to boot). Nicholas Hoult turns the belligerent arrogance all the way up to Top Trump as Peter, and Phoebe Fox excels as the snippy fallen-from-nobility maid, Marial.

It's starkly violent in places, there's a lot of random acts of how's-your-father, especially with everyone else's other halves, and everyone has a potty-mouth to rival even the most sea-weary sailor. If Stranger Things convinced the public to give Netflix a go, then this could really be Hulu's figurehead.

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