The Favourite
Ten Second Review: An exquisite piece of film making featuring some incredible acting from all three leads and their supporting cast. Runs a little long but overall a great piece of cinema.
I was intrigued about The Favourite from the first trailer I saw. I’ve been a huge fan of Olivia Coleman and Rachel Weisz since watching Peep Show and The Mummy when I was a kid. I also really enjoy the infectiously sweet work of Emma Stone so I was ready for a great cast and an interesting director in Yorgos Lanthimos to make a semi-historical film about an eccentric queen.
The film centres around Queen Anne’s (Olivia Coleman) court during the ongoing war with France. Her special advisor come council, Lady Sarah Churchil (Rachel Weisz), has a deep control over Anne’s affections and subsequently makes many of her decisions for her. We then meet a young lady nmaed Abigail (Emma Stone) whose family has fallen on hard times. She asks Lady Churchill, who we learn is her cousin, if she might be able to be employed at the Queen’s residence. What ensues is a battle for the affections of the Queen and rivalry between the two women that quietly comes to rule the country from behind close doors.
The first thing to be said about The Favourite is that the directing is phenomenal. If you enjoy fresh and interesting storytelling with genius use of different cameras and shots while an uncomfortable score keeps you on the edge of your seat then I have no doubt that you will love this film. I would say that it runs a touch long and maybe a soft edit of the occasional less important scene may benefit it, but I’d be hard pushed to say which scenes I would want to lose. I doubt we will see such exquisite direction of a film come up in this oscar season but I hope that this marks a moment where directors will be bumping the lamp a little more, even if it is for no other reason than to make themselves happy with the final product.
It would be difficult to make a film with such interesting direction if the other central elements of the film did not also hold up to close scrutiny. The acting is an obvious place where this direction style could disconnect with another element of the film but I’d be hard-placed to find a miscasting. Coleman plays a simultaneously sympathetic and annoying, measured and extravagant, and funny and serious Queen Anne. I hope her role in this recognised across the upcoming awards season as it was a true joy to watch her. Weisz and Stone are also both perfectly suited to their roles as viper tongued and devilishly clever adversaries. The supporting cast do a great job too, with some excellent casting in the case of Nicholas Hoult who puts in a brilliant performance.
The film is a joy to watch and really serves as an amazing vehicle for Coleman, Weisz, Stone and Lanthimos to display their immense talents. Performances to faun over while you pick apart mesmerising directing; what more could you honestly want? If you enjoy something a little off the wall and aren’t worried about historical accuracy this is definitely one for you!
