Our thirst for period dramas knows no limit – let the undeniable hype around Bridgerton be our greatest indicator. The only thing more compelling than Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hasting's complicated love story, is the newest installation of period piece film, The World to Come. Starring Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) and Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), this sapphic 'forbidden love' tale is certainly one to add to the watch list.
Based on Jim Shepard's novel of the same name, The World to Come tells the story of two queer women, Tally (Kirby) and Abigail (Waterson), battling the challenges of 19th century America while uncovering their love for one another. The pair, who also happen to be neighbours, find solace in each other amidst the hardships of pioneer life – a harsh reality they and their husbands, played by Casey Affleck and Christopher Abbott, cannot seem to escape.
Despite the harsh terrain ands bitter landscape, if there's one thing the trailer reveals it's that Tally and Abigail's greatest dangers do not lie in their isolating environment, but rather in the hands of their husbands who also (unsurprisingly) serve as the film's main antagonists.
Watch the film's trailer below.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Waterson revealed that she looked to Anne Lister's diaries as a source of inspiration, but also acknowledged the significant differences between Lister's experiences and those of her character.
"She [Anne Lister] was a very privileged English woman, and I was playing a farm woman in New England. So there's a great difference there in terms of access, access to education and time, too — time to oneself, time to think and develop your identity," shared Waterson.
"I think Abigail, my character, is a woman whose life was never really her own to choose in any way. There was basically nothing about my life, my experience, that prepared me for playing Abigail, she is of another world."
The film joins a growing list of fiery frontier queer films, following Adéle Haenel and Noémie Merlant's Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet's Ammonite.
The World to Come, directed by Mona Fastvold, first premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim, winning the Queer Lion award for best LGBTQ film. If like us, you're already eagerly awaiting its release, the film will be coming to a limited theatre release on February 12, and will then be available on demand on March 2 through Bleecker Street Films.
Image: YouTube
