The Essex Serpent

“How does it feel to cut into a living body?” It’s an odd question to ask a doctor at your husband’s funeral, but Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) is an unusual woman. She’s also an aspiring naturalist, so when she reads the intriguing newspaper headline “Sea Dragon Sighted in Essex”, she spies a way of exploiting her newfound freedom and escaping her stifling London life. In Essex, she gets more than she bargained for, thanks to the wildness of the area in the late-19th century and her tentative chemistry with Tom Hiddleston’s vicar Will Ransome. The couple are united by their shared love for dogs. Adapted from Sarah Perry’s novel and directed by Clio Barnard, it’s a darkly sensual gothic musing on faith, rationality, bestiality and temptation.