The Director:
Yorgos Lanthimos
The Cast:
Olivia
Colman – Queen Anne
Rachel
Weisz – Sarah
Emma
Stone – Abigail
Nicholas
Hoult - Harley
Mark
Gatiss – Lord Marlborough
Certificate:
15
UK cinema release:
1st
January 2019
The Plot:
In
early 18th century England, the frail Queen Anne (Colman,
The Night Manager)
relies on her close friend, Lady Sarah (Weisz, Our Cousin Rachel)
to govern the country in her stead. Abigail (Stone, La La
Land) is now a servant after her
family has fallen on bad times. She seems quite innocent at first,
but Abigail soon charms her way to the Queen, quite at the expense of
Lady Sarah.
The Review:
The
Favourite is based on real
people, and shines a glaring light on the sacrifices women have to
find make to find status. Weisz plays a cool and calculating Sarah;
while her relationship with her husband (Gatiss, Christopher
Robin) suggests mutual
affection, her real feelings are for the Queen.
With
her numerous maladies and grief, it's quickly obvious who really runs
the country...and it ain't Queen Anne. Theirs love is a gentle look
into a secret same-sex relationship, while Abigail adds some
unexpected spice to the altogether 'perfect' picture. Colman is on
top form as Anne, playing her as helpless (maybe pathetic) but still
endearing enough to feel sorry for. The story behind her seventeen
pet rabbits, while not necessarily true to life, prove to be quite
heart-breaking. Stone is also as dependable as ever. Her character is
someone to hate, and root for, simultaneously. Indeed none of the
characters in The Favourite are
particularly likeable at all! Nicholas Hoult (as you've never seen
him before) is perhaps the worst of the bunch. Harley is a foppish
politician, and despite the fantabulous wigs they wear, it's clear to
see how little politics has changed. Talk about a jarring pill to
swallow.
Call
it a farce, but The Favourite doesn't
sugar-coats anything. It is a refreshing story about the human
condition. All are driven by desperation and ambition, no matter the
cost to their characters, no matter what time period we are in. And
it's funny as hell, too.
The Verdict:
**** 4 STARS OUT OF 5
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