Netflix’s Bridgerton is a hugely popular period drama, but fans this Oscar-winning film starring Kirsten Dunst, surpasses it in every respect

A breathtaking period drama is being lauded as far superior to Netflix’s blockbuster series Bridgerton, particularly with regard to costumes and visual design.

Viewers simply cannot get over how visually spectacular the period drama film is, as audiences become captivated by the wardrobe, set design, historical accuracy and distinctive tone of the picture.

Written, produced and directed by Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette is a highly stylised biographical drama that was released in cinemas in 2006.

The film is based on the 2001 biography penned by Antonia Fraser titled Marie Antoinette: The Journey and stars Kirsten Dunst in the lead role as France’s iconic teenage queen who met a gruesome end.

Jason Schwartzman, Jamie Dornan in his film debut, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston and Steve Coogan star alongside Dunst to complete a remarkable cast.

The film’s official plot states: “The retelling of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.”, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Marie Antoinette made its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and received a nomination for the festival’s most coveted accolade – the Palme d’Or. It also claimed an Oscar for Best Costume Design at the 79th Academy Awards.

The period drama ‘masterpiece’ grossed roughly $60.9 million at the worldwide box office against a production budget of $40 million.

The film attracted widespread acclaim, with one critic writing: “The film’s decadence and opulence as well as all the details in décor, costumes, wigs, etc is fascinating and shows that Coppola had a true vision for it.”

While another reviewer said: “Marie Antoinette has flaws, but still remains a good enough film with tremendous set and costume design. Add in Kirsten Dunst and her performance in the title role and you have something that a lot of audiences can enjoy.”

One critic lauded director Sofia Coppola: “Coppola has crafted a magical, intoxicating film, distinctly her own, that cements her place as one of the most exciting and original new voices in American film.”

Some reviewers offered more measured opinions: “Marie Antoinette may have too much cake and not enough revolution but for the most part it is fun. Just leave your prejudices at the door.”

Nevertheless, there were plenty who were captivated by Coppola’s production: “Marie Antoinette is a decadent delight.”

Audience responses echoed similar sentiments, with one viewer saying: “One of the greatest movies of all al time. I said it.”

Meanwhile, another fan of the film said: “This is one of my favourite films of all time. It had a huge influence on me as a young teenager. Kirsten Dunst’s performance was not only captivating but her portrayal of Marie Antoinette taught me to lead my own path in life.

“It’s what you take from this film that is important, the underlying messages and contrasts to modern reality is what’s important. The rest is just a beautifully put together piece of art.”

One viewer praised both Coppola and Dunst: “Sophia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst collabs are my favourite. For those of us who love this kind of stark contrast, and relate to the helplessness and hopelessness of being a teenage girl, especially in another era, this movie was a masterpiece.”

An IMDB user review of the film reads: “Sophia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ works on all levels. It is a brilliant and spectacular portrayal of a long-past time; yet it also has an immediacy, and intimacy, and a warmth that draws us in and seduces us. tremendous and spectacular job all-round! ! ! I gave this a 10 out of 10.”

While yet another fan said: “I give this movie a 10. Some will say the film is quirky, but I also predict that it will live on as one of the most fascinating films of recent years.”

One viewer added: “Brilliant. My opinion is Coppola had a clear vision of what she wanted to present and nails it. Easily one of my favourite works of recent years,” while another enthusiast wrote, “I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent film. It was a sumptuous feast for the eyes; the costumes and settings were superb.”

A further viewer said: “One of the Best Movies of All Time. This was a masterpiece for those of us who know little about French History. If you love visual splendour, great music, perfect production and direction, then watch this film orchestrated by the exquisite Sophia Coppola. You won’t be disappointed.”

Marie Antoinette is streaming now on Netflix.

‘Preeeeeviously….. she got caught absolutely flooring it, pied off the speed limit completely, and got pulled right over by police. Talk about an awkward chat…

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One Love Island megafan has found herself in hot water with police, with officers pulling her for a chat along the roadside when she was caught mugging off the law. The boys in blue decided she’d gone a bit too far, too soon. And do, the car has officially been dumped from the highway and sent straight to car jail. The Love Island superfan found herself in trouble with the law after police clocked her travelling at 100mph as she tried to race home to catch the latest episode of the fan-favourite reality show. Highway patrol troopers in Arizona in the US were left stunned when they heard the reason the unidentified woman was going 108 mph in a 65 mph zone.

She was apprehended on a state highway in Pinal County on June 9, Highway Patrol confirmed. The bizarre reason for her race home was shared by the Arizona Department of Safety Highway Patrol, with her arrest included in its “Speeding Saturday” roundup on social media at the weekend. The Facebook post read: “The driver stated she was trying to get home fast to be able to watch the reality TV show Love Island.”

It would seem she likely missed the episode, with the social media post revealing she was arrested and booked for criminal speed and reckless driving. State troopers also sent her vehicle was sent to “car jail” for 20 days.

But that wasn’t the only curveball in the same Saturday speeding round-up. Another unidentified driver was also caught in a race of his own, with the speeding motorist pulled over on his way to church. An Arizona state trooper caught the driver on the Maricopa Casa Grande Highway – going 93 mph in a 50 mph zone last Wednesday as he raced to get to a sermon on time. The addition to the social media roundup states: “The driver stated he was on his way from church and had known nothing about criminal speed.”

He was arrested and booked for criminal speed and reckless driving and his car was given to the front seat passenger.

EXCLUSIVE: David Kirkwood also peddled false claims that President Trump won the 2020 US election.

A Reform MSP has been branded “dangerous” after boasting about persuading people to snub the covid jag.

David Kirkwood said he did not take the shot himself and claimed he knew of “very few” people in his party who agreed to the injection.

He also backed the false claim that President Trump won the 2020 US election, despite Joe Biden romping home by seven million votes.

Kirkwood, who was elected as a South Scotland MSP in May, sits on the Holyrood Public Audit committee and is his party’s shadow “technology” minister.

An investigation into his X posts has revealed a stream of claims questioning the covid vaccine and spreading misinformation about the 2020 election.

The covid jags are widely believed to have saved lives and protected elderly people, but Kirkwood wrote in August 2021:

“TBH I think you’d need to be a bit of a mug now to have the first jag.”

OPINION

Twenty four hours later, he tweeted: “Yes, a few people have decided not to have either the first or second jag after talking to me.”

Kirkwood, who does not have a medical degree, wrote in 2023: “I’ve never had a jag, l’ve persuaded many other people not to have them and l’d like them stopped, but realise that they may be beneficial in some ways for some people.”

Months later, he said of covid-19: “There never was a serious risk to the nation’s health.”

He returned to the same theme months later: “To be fair, a lot of people were bamboozled by the so-called “science” in the early days. However, I know of very few people in our party that even had one jag, never mind any boosters.”

Kirkwood, a management consultant before getting elected to Holyrood, stuck to the same line in February last year: “I never had any jags and I persuaded a lot of other people never to have any.”

He also sided with Trump in pushing the false claim that he beat Biden six years ago.

Part of the conspiracy theory centres around the false claim Biden benefited from fraud to win Maricopa County in the swing state of Arizona.

Kirkwood tweeted in 2021: “Trump’s election was stolen from him – the Maricopa (AZ) county result is in serious doubt due to large-scale fraud. It will be the first of many.”

He also wrote: “Trump DID win the 2020 election.”

Kirkwood’s online biography states: “He is not easily swayed by popular opinion and will speak out when things need to change.”

Scottish Greens MSP Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill said: “These comments from David Kirkwood are the latest example of Reform UK living on another planet. Denying reality and fact is becoming a trademark for Reform UK.

“People deserve representatives who are grounded in evidence, public health and democratic reality.

“At the height of a global pandemic, communities across Scotland were doing everything they could to keep each other safe.

“For any elected representative to have boasted about persuading people not to get vaccinated, if these reports are accurate, is irresponsible and dangerous. The truth is, Covid-19 vaccines saved lives.”

“The comments about Donald Trump and the 2020 US election also reveal Reform UK’s habit of believing, and spreading, conspiracy theories peddled by the far-right.”

Tory MSP Craig Hoy said: “We already knew this Reform MSP held wildly out-of-touch views given his longstanding support for breaking up the United Kingdom.”

Reform UK in Scotland has been contacted.

Get Daily Record Premium for just £1 per month in exclusive offer to celebrate the world cup. Click HERE.

In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.

Football fans can snap up more than 100 stickers from Panini’s latest collection as stock dwindles at many online retailers

Panini’s beloved World Cup sticker collection has returned for this summer’s tournament, and it’s been selling fast. The 2026 edition has been flying off the virtual shelves at many retailers, leaving fans with big gaps in their collection.

However, lesser-known retailer BargainMax still has stock of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Sticker Collection Mega Multiset, a bundle that includes 16 sticker packets, each containing seven stickers. It’s usually priced at £19.99, but savvy shoppers can reduce this to less than £5 if they create a free TopCashback account.

By doing so, new members will receive a £15 welcome bonus and cashback at BargainMax, effectively reducing the Panini sticker bundle to £4.82 after cashback. As it includes a total of 112 World Cup stickers, this works out at roughly 4p per sticker.

The deal is exclusively available for new TopCashback members, while existing members will pay £19.82 after cashback. This undercuts rival retailers like Amazon, which charges £25.42 (was £26.48) for the same bundle, while a 50-packet bundle and 100-packet bundle come in at £62.50 and £124.98 respectively.

It comes as retailers like Argos, Sports Direct, and Selfridges sold out of much of their stock earlier this month. This year’s tournament has been expanded to 48 teams, which means the FIFA World Cup 2026 Sticker album comprises a whopping 980 stickers to collect.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Sticker Collection Mega Multiset

£19.99

£4.82

BargainMax | TopCashback

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Get the deal here

BargainMax customers can 112 Panini stickers in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Sticker Collection Mega Multiset for roughly 4p each by shopping through TopCashback.

This includes portraits of legendary players like Harry Kane, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as iconic team badges for all 48 teams playing this summer. The TopCashback deal comes as the World Cup enters the final days of the first wave of group games, with England set to play their first fixture on Wednesday (June 17).

The Three Lions will face old rivals Croatia in Dallas in the Group L opener. Scotland will then follow up their first World Cup win in 36 years when they play Morocco in Boston on Friday (June 19).

For fans yet to secure their new football strip ahead of the games, England fans can get 15% off the new Nike 2026 shirts at Kitbag with the code AFF15, while Scotland’s latest adidas home kit is available at JD Sports.

Otherwise, here’s how to get 112 Panini World Cup stickers for 4p each.

How to get Panini’s FIFA World Cup 2026 stickers for 4p each

• Sign up to TopCashback here.
• Search for BargainMax and click ‘Get Cashback Now’.
• Shop and checkout as usual.
• Cashback will track and appear in the TopCashback account within seven working days of purchase.
• The cashback will become payable and available to withdraw and spend after BargainMax has paid TopCashback the commission for the purchase.

As for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Sticker Collection Mega Multiset, Amazon customers have awarded the bundle a 4.2-star rating after more than 150 reviews. One said: “Really worth the money, got Ronaldo and Messi in the first 10 packs.”

Another said: “The stickers are good quality, colourful and well printed, with a nice mix of players, teams and special stickers.”

However, the same collector also highlighted a drawback to the Panini stickers, adding: “As with any sticker collection, duplicates are inevitable, particularly once your album starts filling up.”

Meanwhile, another happy customer said: “Perfect starter pack, my son is extremely happy.”

Saturday at Parklife 2026 includes sets from Skepta, Sammy Virji, Nia Archives and Josh Baker

This weekend Parklife Festivals returns with a star-studded lineup. Tens of thousands are expected to flock to Heaton Park to see some of the music industry’s biggest acts take to the stage.

Manchester’s biggest music festival, Parklife, returns on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June with festival-goers turning out to see headliners including Calvin Harris, who has not headlined a show in Manchester since playing at the Manchester Arena in 2013.

One of the country’s biggest music events, it regularly draws in more than 80,000 people over the weekend and this year marks 16 years since it was first founded. Previously, the festival has been headlined by hit hop titans like 50 Cent, Snoop Dog, and Tyla the Creator as well as Manchester acts such as Liam Gallagher, The 1975 and Aitch.

Click here for the latest on Manchester’s food & drink scene, gigs and more in our CityLife newsletter

This year’s edition will also see British MC and rapper Skepta, Garage and bassline DJ and producer Sammy Virji, and Swedish songstress Zara Larsson will also take to the stage. Manchester-based DJ and producer Josh Baker will be returning to the festival having had his set quite literally shut down at the event last year.

Others confirmed to be playing will be Chris Stussy, Nia Archives, Kettama, Marlon Hoffstadt, Bou, Rossi, Silva Bumpa, and local Atherton lad Morgan Seatree, who went viral after bringing his grandma out on stage with him during his set at the festival last year.

Other big names include Armand Van Helden, Shy FX, Clementine Douglas, Ewan McVicar, Prospa, Rudim3ntal, and Chloé Caillet. Parklife 2026 will also feature a range of takeovers from the likes of XXL, Worried About Henry, Modern Funktion and Ghosts Of Garage.

It’ll be a busy weekend across Greater Manchester too. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has said more than a quarter of a million people will be travelling to the various events over the weekend.

Over at the Etihad Stadium, Take That are set to perform a series of shows on all three days. Etihad Campus will also host the Women’s Netball Final at the Co-op Live from 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

The city will also welcome Lily Allen and the B52s across three nights at the AO Arena; and the Women’s Cricket World Cup will draw thousands to Emirates Old Trafford on 21 June when South Africa take on India.

You can read our full guide including when the festival starts and end, what you can take in and how to get there and home here.

Saturday, 20 June stage splits and set times:

The Valley

• Alexandria – 12-1pm
• Prospa – 1-2:30pm
• Josh Baker – 2:30-4pm
• 4am Kru – 4:30-6pm
• Nia Archives – 6:30-7:30pm
• Skepta – 8-9pm
• Sammy Virji – 21:30-11pm

Panorama

• Ellia Jaya – 12-1pm
• Julian Fijma – 1-2:30pm
• Bullet Tooth – 2:30-3:40pm
• SOSA – 15:40 -5pm
• Cloone – 5-6:30pm
• Alisha – 6:30-8pm
• Rossi – 8-9:30pm
• East End Dubs – 9:30-11pm

Matinee

• Niamh – 12-1pm
• ATRIP – 1-2pm
• mph – 2-3pm
• Oppidan – 3-4pm
• Effy – 4-5pm
• Malugi B2B Sam Alfred – 5-6:30pm
• Marlon Hoffstadt – 6:30-8pm
• Morgan Seatree – 8-9pm
• Mall Grab – 9-10pm
• Daria Kolosova – 10-11pm

Magic Sky

• North Base – 12-12:40pm
• Catching Cairo – 12:40-1:25pm
• LENS – 1:25-2:15pm
• Born on Road – 2:15-3:05pm
• Kanine – 3:03-4PM
• Wilkinson – 4-5pm
• Dimension – 5-6pm
• Bou – 6-7pm
• Hedex – 7-8pm
• Andy C – 8-9pm
• K Motionz – 9-10pm
• Mozey – 10-10:50pm

G Stage

• Mya – 12-1pm
• A For Alpha – 1-2:30pm
• The Trip – 2:30-4pm
• Kepler – 4-5:30pm
• Locky B2B Phill de Janeiro B2B Benji King – 5:30-7pm
• Locklead – 7-8:30pm
• Jamback – 8:30-10pm
• Dean Turnley -10-11pm

** Major Widow’s Bay finale spoilers follow **

Widow’s Bay sunsetted its bonkers summer season with a special stormy goodbye to its guests, who presumably booked their hols after Martha’s Vineyard had already been snapped up.

The tenth and final episode was titled We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time! I did, but Kenny and Ruth probably did not. And neither will eight others, if those tolling church bells are anything to go by.

The Apple TV show has been a sleeper summer hit, with word-of-mouth buzz that, increasingly, feels like a relic of a bygone TV-watching age.

But that’s the whole point of Widow’s Bay: it’s like stepping back in time. There’s no phone service. Tom Loftis (a towering Matthew Rhys performance) has an actual Rolodex on his desk. The Lovely Bones is still a popular choice at book clubs.

The finale proved the island is even more antiquated than all that. For instance, they didn’t do away with human sacrifice as many years ago as the rest of us did. As a result, the show gifted us the most uncanny training video since Severance’s animated Keanu Reeves cameo.

Widow’s Bay season two has already been confirmed. Good thing too, since showrunner Katie Dippold and her crack team of creatives/production design geniuses (still not over the Teeth game and/or Patricia’s grimoire) have some loose ends to tie up. So let’s break down that tour de force finale. 

RIP Ruth (?)

The penultimate episode set up the finale as a trolley problem over whether or not to kill the sweet, doddering Ruth.

A telltale brooch and Rosemary’s genealogy identified her as the sole surviving descendant of Frances Warren. If she kicks the bucket, so too does the curse on Widow’s Bay.

Because Tom’s chant of ‘cancer, cancer, cancer’ doesn’t manifest the desired results in her medical files, he tries first a pill combination and then a pillow to get the job done. But ultimately, there’s no point.

After a trip down memory lane through all the guys (and girls) who made a pass at her, Ruth tells Tom the thing she’s never told another soul. She had a child with a married man (‘Pullout method just doesn’t work!’). That daughter went on to marry Tom.

So if you’re one of the ravenous Widow’s Bay fans on Reddit who predicted Tom’s son Evan would be a Warren descendant, take a bow.

The only way he will be able to leave the island is in a coffin, or on his way into one. Tom realises he’ll never go to college/a Red Sox game after all. 

But an unknowing Bashir walks in and shoots Ruth to save his child. I gasped.

Ruth is still alive when we last see her, but things don’t look good. If she does live, she might have found a taste for telling people about Evan’s ancestry.

The shelter and that creepy training video

Surely if your storm shelter has a radioactive symbol by the door, don’t go in, right? That will be the homespun wisdom I’ll take from this episode, alongside ‘Never enter a room that contains a creepy torture chair’.

While Tom is debating whether to kill Ruth before being usurped, back at the shelter, the proverbial is hitting the fan. Patricia and Wyck are trying their damndest to keep a handle on it all, even with food and water supplies that are long past their best-by dates.

It’s not just unruly tourists. Everything about the shelter screams ‘Bad things have happened here! And will again!’ Rosemary was once instructed never to enter. Patricia finds a note that reads, ‘If you can read this, I’m already dead.’ 

It’s dire stuff. And we haven’t even got to what Dale finds. 

While pursuing the shelter backrooms for some light entertainment to weather the storm, he flicks on a vintage film reel. On it is an instructional video for human sacrifices of yore, as well as the ‘facilitators’ sending them down to their deaths. 

We’re told that after a ‘very fair, very rigorous selection process’ the so-called offerings were chosen and had to ‘accept their fate and take pride’. Evidently Widow’s Bay was once upon a time even worse; if you were deemed ‘wanting in some way,’ the town hall was liable to toss you into the shelter to be consumed by whatever in God’s name is beneath that cellar hatch.

‘Your sacrifice will save countless members of our community from suffering,’ says the smiley yuppie on the video. Then they show harrowing images of half-naked offerings with sacks over their heads, being led to their demise.

Next is the key detail. The island has ‘made its needs known’ via the tolling church bell. ‘One soul for each bell toll.’

The tolling bells

We first heard the bells toll at the start of the show’s second episode, Lodgings. The late Reverend Bryce went to check on them and found both bells still locked up, covered in cobwebs.

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The bells are something of a dinner bell for the island, and we now know they’re also of numerical importance.

PJ presumably had no idea about any of that when he shut Kenny in the creepy cellar. He’s always doing bad things at the worst possible time, such as sneaking into the underground network of tunnels to smoke a joint with Evan and that one mainland girl (who I’m starting to question might be a sinister siren of sorts, because how is she still holidaying on Widow’s Bay?).

Anyway, town hall cog Kenny is the island’s first victim we’ve seen. He gets stuck behind the self-locking door. Then: ‘Something’s happening!’ Before: ‘Oh God! Oh God!’ Whatever it is isn’t good. When Evan goes back in afterwards, the doors to its domain are slightly ajar. 

Those bells toll again as the season ends with Tom throwing Ruth’s brooch in the sea (surely that means she’s dead?).

They ring out eight times, which makes sense given that when we last heard them, it was nine.

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So when we return to Widow’s Bay (hopefully soon), the island won’t yet have transformed into Martha’s Vineyard. It’s still hungry!

Bashir and his newborn

We never see Bashir’s very sweet wife give birth, but we can only assume the baby is coming or has come. Their newborn is likely about to be consigned to the same fate as Evan: island entrapment. 

But Bashir now knows there is a descendant who could lift the curse on his own child. That is shaping up to be the central quandary of season two, besides the question of which eight suckers are heading into the basement next. 

Bashir has shown he’s willing to take matters into his own hands (justice for Ruth) and presumably, won’t see any consequences for it, since the rule of law seems conspicuously absent thus far.

Evan and Tom versus Bashir – who will take it? Or who should take it? We’re back to the trolley problems.

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Widow’s Bay is available to stream on Apple TV.

MORE: SNL UK star rushed to hospital after ‘lacerating’ his hand with sword

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Thomas Tuchel says that he is “not ready to adapt” England’s playing style at the World Cup despite the heat – as it would “give up” the team’s strengths.

Since starting his job as head coach in January 2025, Tuchel has made a point of saying how much he likes the physicality of English domestic football and that the national side should replicate that style.

The 52-year-old’s squad selections have followed that thinking with an emphasis on physicality and powerful running when he picked his 26-man squad for the tournament.

“They want to be active with the ball,” the German told BBC Sport about his England side before their World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday (21:00 BST).

“We have a young group. We have a courageous group. We have a brave group of players.

“So let’s let’s go for it. I mean, no one guarantees you that we win. So we want to at least try it, our style and our belief.”

The temperatures in the USA, Mexico and Canada are extremely high and mandatory hydration breaks have been introduced in all matches, effectively breaking them into quarters.

And speaking at the news conference before the Croatia match, Tuchel said hydration breaks can “change the character of each half”.

He acknowledged the three-minute intervals give coaches chance to “change and reset” during games while delivering “group messages”.

Temperatures in Dallas will be more than 30C by the time England kick off their opening Group L game – but the effects of the heat will be reduced because the Dallas Stadium is one of the air-conditioned indoor venues being used at this World Cup.

And starting the tournament in that stadium has given Tuchel belief that his side can impose their style on Croatia “because we play indoors”.

But the England boss did reference the impact of the heat has had on his players at their Kansas City training base.

“Yesterday, it was very hot even here in training,” Tuchel said.

“And we could feel that it has a more impact than, for example, today. So let’s see.

“I’m just not ready to adapt into a different style of football because of circumstances that we cannot influence. I think we would just give up our strengths.”