The Laureate is a biographical drama film based on the real-life story of Robert Graves, a British writer and poet who rose to fame during the 1920s. As the film opens, Graves (played by Tom Hughes) is returning from the brutal trenches of World War I, where he was wounded and traumatized by the death and destruction he experienced.
Back in England, Graves is struggling to adjust to civilian life and support his family. Despite his success as a poet, he is haunted by his experiences in the war and feels disconnected from his wife Nancy (Dianna Agron) and their children.
Enter Laura Riding (Laura Haddock), a fiery American writer who captures Graves' attention with her wit, intelligence, and unconventional ideas about love and sex. Despite being married, Graves and Riding embark on a passionate affair, which soon becomes complicated when Riding moves in with the Graves family and starts living as part of a menage a tois.
As if that weren't enough drama, the situation becomes even more complicated when Geoffrey Phibbs (Samuel West), an Irish poet and Riding's former lover, arrives on the scene. Phibbs is handsome, charismatic, and magnetic - everything that Graves is not - and soon becomes a rival for Riding's affections.
What follows is a tumultuous tangle of desire, jealousy, and artistic rivalry as Graves, Riding, and Phibbs navigate the complex dynamics of their relationship. As tensions escalate, the story takes a dark turn when Graves is accused of attempted murder, leaving him and his loved ones in a precarious position.
Overall, The Laureate is a gripping and evocative drama that captures the heady atmosphere of the 1920s and the complicated, often messy lives of the literary elite of the time. It is a story of love, passion, and ambition, but also of betrayal, heartbreak, and artistic egos run amok.
