The Favourite - Movie Review
The Favourite
Plot: In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah, governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.
Plot: In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah, governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.
Cast: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Certificate: 15 (very strong language, strong sex)
Runtime: 119 minutes
Release Date: Tuesday 1st January 2019
Bizarre is the most appropriate word to describe The Favourite. It's a bewilderingly unorthodox approach to a period drama filled with vulgar language, sex-crazed romps and a barrage of ducks and rabbits. Lanthimos, never afraid of straying into the absurd (in fact, some could say he welcomes it), presents a story of love and treachery set to the backdrop of an aging Queen Anne (Colman) and two women vying for her love. The reception from critics has been overwhelmingly positive so expectations were high. Lanthimos' past works, whilst revelling in his trademark absurdity, are thoroughly entertaining. Sadly, The Favourite simply isn't this critic's cup of tea.
There is a lot to admire within The Favourite. Most notably are the magnificent three central performances of Colman, Stone and Weisz. Rachel Weisz, marking her second feature alongside Lanthimos, is anything but a moustache-twirling villain. Each of these characters are given a fascinating mean streak but Weisz, arguably is the most sinister. Playing Lady Sarah, an aid to the Queen and, as letters between the two indicated in real life, her passionate lover, Weisz commands the screen every second she appears from whether it be dressed like a steampunk pirate shooting pigeons, or choking Anne to assert her dominance. Her love quickly finds itself in competition against another when Emma Stone arrives at the Palace covered in mud after being thrown out of a carriage by a man pleasuring himself to the sight of her. Did I mention that it might be better to leave the Nans and Grandads at home for this one? Stone's character starts out as a scullery maid until she makes a miraculous discovery that heals the Queen's gout. From that moment on, it becomes a volatile, intense and downright dirty contest to win the affection of Queen Anne. Maintaining a convincing British accent that rarely falters, Stone is impressive in the role and has, undeniably, the biggest and most engaging transformational arc in the film. However, both Stone and Weisz can do nothing but bow in humility to the supremacy known as Olivia Colman. A sheer delight to watch both on and off the screen, this is the performance that will make Olivia Colman a globally recognised name. Delivering, unquestionably, an awards worthy performance, Colman may play the fool in some scenes and the over-emotional monarch in others, but there is a constant sense that, behind the double-crosses between Stone and Weisz, she is in control of the situation as if she's pulling the strings on her puppets.
Bizarre is the most appropriate word to describe The Favourite. It's a bewilderingly unorthodox approach to a period drama filled with vulgar language, sex-crazed romps and a barrage of ducks and rabbits. Lanthimos, never afraid of straying into the absurd (in fact, some could say he welcomes it), presents a story of love and treachery set to the backdrop of an aging Queen Anne (Colman) and two women vying for her love. The reception from critics has been overwhelmingly positive so expectations were high. Lanthimos' past works, whilst revelling in his trademark absurdity, are thoroughly entertaining. Sadly, The Favourite simply isn't this critic's cup of tea.
There is a lot to admire within The Favourite. Most notably are the magnificent three central performances of Colman, Stone and Weisz. Rachel Weisz, marking her second feature alongside Lanthimos, is anything but a moustache-twirling villain. Each of these characters are given a fascinating mean streak but Weisz, arguably is the most sinister. Playing Lady Sarah, an aid to the Queen and, as letters between the two indicated in real life, her passionate lover, Weisz commands the screen every second she appears from whether it be dressed like a steampunk pirate shooting pigeons, or choking Anne to assert her dominance. Her love quickly finds itself in competition against another when Emma Stone arrives at the Palace covered in mud after being thrown out of a carriage by a man pleasuring himself to the sight of her. Did I mention that it might be better to leave the Nans and Grandads at home for this one? Stone's character starts out as a scullery maid until she makes a miraculous discovery that heals the Queen's gout. From that moment on, it becomes a volatile, intense and downright dirty contest to win the affection of Queen Anne. Maintaining a convincing British accent that rarely falters, Stone is impressive in the role and has, undeniably, the biggest and most engaging transformational arc in the film. However, both Stone and Weisz can do nothing but bow in humility to the supremacy known as Olivia Colman. A sheer delight to watch both on and off the screen, this is the performance that will make Olivia Colman a globally recognised name. Delivering, unquestionably, an awards worthy performance, Colman may play the fool in some scenes and the over-emotional monarch in others, but there is a constant sense that, behind the double-crosses between Stone and Weisz, she is in control of the situation as if she's pulling the strings on her puppets.
Now this is when the review gets a little more personal because, and this is quite a challenge when the majority of your peers are singing the praises of a film, The Favourite didn't land with me in the way I had hoped. Performances and unique direction from Lanthimos aside (the use of the Fish Eye lens is particularly original), I found the script by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara utterly terrible. The story itself piqued my interest with an original premise but the dialogue quickly became unbearable. There is an attempt to slightly modernise the language but, and swearing in films is rarely ever a problem for me, the script relied on a great deal of cursing and foul language that despite a very classical aesthetic, the dialogue would have been more suited in a Judd Apatow comedy. Scenes in which Nicholas Hoult, who does a tremendous job, shoves Emma Stone to the floor and uproariously screaming "CUNT", felt as if the screenwriters were relying on the audience finding upper class twits swearing hilarious. In my opinion, it began to detract from a very heartfelt and tender take on a love story. The film also began to lose a significant amount of momentum in the latter half as it divulged into a game of wits between the Queen's two lovers leading me to believe that this story may have been better suited to a one-off television drama.
Understandably, I recognise that my opinion is in the distinct minority but do not let that detract from the positives because when The Favourite is good, it's great. On a technical and acting level, The Favourite has very little flaws. Yet, the screenplay appears to undo all of the amazing work by delivering a tonally inconsistent and jarring experience that becomes difficult to pinpoint what the aim of the movie was.
My Verdict: 6.5/10
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