(Dir: Yorgis Lanthimos, 2018)
The world needs more directors like Yorgis Lanthimos. So much of what gets released is utterly formulaic and uninspired, thus seeing Lanthimos take what would have been a generic period piece and elevate it to so much more is genuinely exciting. The Favourite is set in the court of Queen Anne in the early eighteenth century at a time of war with France, as her deep friendship with Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) is challenged by the arrival of Sarah's distant cousin Abigail (Emma Stone). But it's so much more interesting than that quick description makes it sound!
The cast are all fantastic. Olivia Coleman's turn as Queen Anne is excellent as she slowly succumbs to her ailments whilst wallowing in a deep, lonely pathos, pierced only by brief moments of childlike petulance. The fact that the two main people vying for her attention and attempting to curry favour with her are female makes this a refreshing watch. Weisz's Sarah holds the smarts to direct the queen towards her view of the right direction for the country, giving a performance of confident authority. Her verbal sparring with leader of the opposition Harley (Nicholas Hoult) is delicious. Whilst Stone's Abigail is sweet and conniving with a clear focus, subtly playing the long game. She is similarly given a male counterpart a to spar with, Joe Alwyn"s Masham, and that is also great to watch. The women here very much have the upper hand.
But it's the script and Lanthimos' superb eye for the absurd that seals the deal. It's all slightly off-kilter but never in a way that makes you think it's over-done or descending into farce. The script is super-sharp and genuinely funny, with all of the cast fully embracing it – Hoult should also get a mention here as he is clearly having loads of fun playing dress up! The camera work is sublime, making full use of the huge hallways and spaces of Hatfield House with lovely tracking shots, and then skewering our perspective by shooting scenes with a fish eye lens. The lighting is gorgeous too, especially the copious amount of candlelight used for the night time scenes. But most importantly it's the moments lingering on an actor's face, immersing us in their reactions, unable to pull away no matter how uncomfortable it gets. That gets us to the heart of the characters and the story. And that final scene...
Whether or not period dramas are your thing, The Favourite is worthy of your time. If The Lobster is Lanthimos playing up the absurdist angle and The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a suffocating spiral into darkness, The Favourite applies a lighter touch to both of those approaches and is all the better for it. It will still leave you feeling a little unsure what you just watched but that just invites you to dig a little deeper the more you think about it. And let's take a final moment to recognise the real star of the film – Horatio the duck (you'll see)!
