With its A-list cast and sumptuous belle époque settings, you’d almost count on this U.K. take on the origins of the writer Colette to be a handsome snore.

But then you’d be wrong. Keira Knightley has one of her best roles ever as the poor country girl who marries a rich Parisian dandy and discovers her own art. Even more surprising, perhaps, is Dominic West’s in-depth portrayal of her peacock of a husband; he’s a cheating, lying bully, but he teases out her innate talent and becomes a foil for her sexual self-discovery as well.