Rated: R
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
It's the early 18th century, England is at war with France, and the British throne's Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) - not in the best of health - always retains her close, long-term friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) by her side for help, companionship and guidance. So much so, most often it's Lady Sarah running the country, either by guiding the queen's mind her way or outright ruling in Anne's stead and doing what she feels is right. Enter a new servant girl, Abigail (Emma Stone), a cousin of Lady Sarah's fallen from grace but determined to work her way back up, who engages both Sarah's curiosity and trust ... but also those favors from the queen herself, as the machinations of the castle and court and how things work become clearer to the young woman. The Favourite is brilliant, with razor-sharp performances by the three leads (Colman, especially, deserves her Oscar) as well as the rest of a fine supporting cast (poor Nicholas Hoult, shafted out of another Oscar nomination he deserved), that mess with the audience when, at first, you dislike Sarah and favor Abigail ... then slowly realize maybe you've had it backwards the whole time. Everything about the film feels spot on - costumes, sets, art direction, cinematography - and though a bit of an oddity with its definite quirks (though I found director Lanthimos's "fish-eyed lens" choices very effective and mood-setting, when used), The Favourite is one of those films I really liked when I first saw it, largely due to the performances ... but the more time that goes on since watching it, the film keeps coming back to my mind again and again, definitive scenes and themes, and it's like I've grown to love it in the interim all the more. Not for everyone, but in this reviewer's mind a dark, darkly-funny must-see. 9.5/10 stars
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