Disclaimer: This is a review, and as such will contain opinions, spoilers and (often) general shit talking. (If you talk about what you don’t like about a work, you learn a lot. When you think through a work with the stakes presented to you by the creator, by the context of the work, you learn a lot. I review things, not because I love to dislike things, but because dislike contains rich and vital information for the process of experiencing something, but I cannot access it without interrogating it.) So, if you don’t want to have this thing spoiled for you, or don’t know how to behave when a person on the internet, that you don’t know, has opinions that don’t line up with yours, this review is not for you. It’s also not for the author/creator of the work. Please and thank you.
The Favourite by Yorgos Lanthimos is a delicious black comedy, an extravagant depiction of the power dynamics in the court of Queen Anne.
Set in the early 18th century, The Favourite follows three women;
- Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), the ailing, traumatised, insecure and emotionally volatile Queen of England,
- Lady Sarah Marlborough (Rachel Weisz), an ambitious woman, ready to solidify her and her husband’s positions in life,
- and Abigail (Emma Stone), Lady Marlborough’s distant cousin and a shrewd servant with a goal to reinstate herself as a lady.
Abigail’s arrival disrupts the power balance between Queen Anne and Lady Marlborough, and what follows is a raunchy, greed-fuelled battle between Abigail and Lady Marlborough as they each fight to be the Queen’s favourite.
The two women play very different games.
Where Abigail uses passive-aggressive tactics covertly to gain power, due to her low station, Lady Marlborough uses aggression and overt control to gain and wield power at court.
The juxtaposition of the Queen and Abigail in the beginning (literally, by alternating scenes between them), each suffering but in very different positions is powerful.
Abigail’s journey to the estate (the crowded carriage, the wanker) and her circumstances there are also so well done (the right sleeping conditions, the pranking by the staff). While this is by no means a period accurate piece, it has added in enough elements to still be believable.
The modernities allowed into the film don’t detract from the period feel of it. For instance, Lady Marlborough wearing pants; this just adds to her image of being a woman with power, behaving as a man with power would.
This film is a look at the dynamics behind power, politics, manipulation and the pursuit of wealth. Despite it being quite satirical, it feels real, and does a wonderful job of demonstrating the fragility of human power and control.
Ultimately, all three women realise the emptiness of the power game they’ve been playing, as everyone gets what they asked for, but none of it is what they wanted.
The acting is superb. The cinematography engrossing. The costuming impactful. The music is emotionally intrusive.
The best thing about the music is that it isn’t always music. Sometimes it’s just individual sounds, leading you through scenes and not merely telling you what to feel, but revealing character. It’s intrusive, like you’re being exposed to the inner pain and turmoil, dashed hopes and dreams, of the characters.
This is accompanied by excellent cinematography, which includes sudden camera pivots and unusual perspectives.
I also love the use of fisheye lenses to punctuate and frame significant moments in the film, such as an emotional or plot turning point.
It’s a subtle yet powerful way of visually strengthening the story.
So is the use of slow motion, such as in the duck racing scene at the start. The slow exploration to drama
The refreshing thing about this film is that it’s about the women.
It centres on Queen Anne, Lady Marlborough and Abigail.
The gradual evolution of these three main characters is beautifully crafted, and I can’t pick one favourite.
Olivia Coleman and Rachel Weisz deliver performances that are pitch perfect, interpreting the often-absurdist tone of the film in strikingly emotional ways. Emma Stone beautifully portrays a character that you can both root for and despise.
Not one of these women are just one thing. Each character is expertly written with layers and nuance.
The film also doesn’t offer any judgement on the behaviour or actions of the characters, which I love. It simply exists as the conduit for telling the story of these women.
No one is a clear cut hero or villain, rather these women move through these roles in turn.
The imbalance of power is visceral, shaping the lives and actions of these characters. Yet even when they engage in the most despicable behaviour, you still somehow understand them and end up rooting for them.
While this film is an exploration into Queen Anne being gay, I’ve read several analyses that state it was unlikely that Queen Anne and Lady Marlborough were lovers, but close friends.
The men add a framework and texture to the world.
They make up the members of parliament and populating the various Hellfire Clubs, showing us that it’s still very much a man’s world even with a Queen.
The way men are introduced in this film also feels very telling. They’re all introduced after all the main female protagonists have first been introduced.
The first man we see, as an character that actively engages with a main character, not just a background extra, is the man fapping in the carriage to Abigail. He also squeezes her bottom, causing her to fall into the shitty mud, which then sets her up for a terrible impression (and a prank from the servants).
When we’re introduced to Harley and Lord Marlborough, they’re both attending the duck race, though with varying degrees of interest. But they’re framed in this setting of ridiculous opulence, duck racing inside the house, where we get a delicious slow section set to classical music, where we can really slow down and see the boredom and greed of the wealthy.
In addition to navigating each other, the women are constantly aware of their weaker position in society when compared to the men, and have to factor in that additional layer into their scheming.
Nicolas Hoult as opposition leader-cum-PM steals every scene he’s in. Harley’s rivalry with Lady Marlborough is some of the best, most entertaining sniping I’ve ever seen, and both Hoult and Weisz elevate these characters with their performances.
The film is a pleasure to watch from beginning to end.
Even when it gets tense and cringey.
And it intentionally moves slowly and has quiet moments, allowing you time to really take in what’s going on under the surface.
The jokes are perfectly timed — the descriptive and whimsical section titles — and the slapstick nature of some of the physical humour — Abigail sitting on the floor crying, Harley and Marlborough literally having a nose-to-nose stare down, Queen Anne being used as a table for the war map when she’s too sick to get out of bed (and many, many, many more) — balances out the sinister goings-on in the Queen’s court.
This film is a masterclass in how to make a film, from the writing to the acting to the cinematography. A lot of focus on detail makes this funny and enjoyable and infinitely re-watchable.
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