The Favourite: Dark, Cunning, And Hilarious

For most of my readers, including myself, I'm willing to guess that The Favourite hasn't hit your radar or it has and it's been dismissed by you as a "boring period piece". Don't worry - it did that for me as well. I see anything from that era advertised, I immediately push it out of my mind because I generally don't care for those types of films. But, the director... the trailer... the cast... and frankly, the rottentomatoes rating helped shift the balance of intrigue back to me. First, the director - Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos caught my eye. He's not the type of director to give you a standard period piece. He's a (for lack of a better word) art-house director who makes quirky and dark movies like The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, both of which I saw, both of which I kinda liked and also seriously hated at the same time. Then, the trailer. I wasn't bored when it saw it. In fact, I chuckled a lot during its two minute run-time subverting the expectation I had when I saw it was, indeed, a "period piece". The casting of Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Coleman really sucked me in. And the 97% on RT finally convinced me to give it a shot and I'm very glad that I did.

This is going to sound a little stale, but stick with me - The Favourite is a story about an ailing Queen Anne (Coleman) in the early 18th century, when Britain is at war with the French, and she has no desire to rule due to a serious bout of self-pity (and Gout). In her stead is Lady Sarah (Weisz), her longtime friend and secret lover. She rules with an iron fist without conscience and without care for anyone's feelings, including the Queen's. She's tough and therefore she wants Britain to be tough. Enter Abigail (Stone), Sarah's cousin who comes to court penniless and in search of employment. At first she's given work as a scullery maid, but when she slips the Queen some herbs to help her ailing Gout, Sarah lets Abigail be her lady-in-waiting. While Sarah deals with business in Parliament, Abigail uses this time to win over the Queen for her own dastardly plans - become a baroness once again. Her relationship with the Queen also turns into a sexual one and creates a devious love triangle between the Queen, Abigail, and Sarah. Sarah and Abigail torment one another and one-up one another in order to become... you guessed it... the favorite.

What I wouldn't have guessed about the movie is that it's equally as funny as it is seriously screwed up. I loved watching these women one-up each other in creative and dastardly ways all set in a time when women, other than the Queen, really didn't have a voice. There's a really dark sense of humor here that once you've figured out the tone of the film will really get at your funny bone, but it'll take a little bit to get used to. Each woman is fueled by her various needs and becomes likable at certain points in the film, but all are inherently unlikable. There's so many layers of character, trying to figure out who to root for becomes the fun of the film until you realize there really isn't anyone to like here. Anne is essentially a child. She pouts for a good part of the film not wanting responsibility of making wartime decisions and throwing herself on the floor in tantrum. Sarah is an icy, cold woman who stands tough, and hardly ever reveals vulnerability unless it is for her own personal benefit. Abigail, who audiences would most likely call the most likable is sweet, endearing, loving and probably the most evil of the three. Watching each layer of these characters peel back to reveal something new and terrible is the fun of the film. The humor comes from the dry wit of the era that actually lends to more laughs than you'd expect. Even as a film set in the 1700s, it's a very resonant movie today.

The one thing Lanthimos does with the film really well is he never calls attention to the fact that there is a lesbian love triangle happening onscreen. It's never called out for its same-sex relationships, especially in a time when it was more than forbidden - it would incur certain death. It's treated (as it should be) as another cinematic love triangle. You don't have to be convinced this is how it went or it doesn't have to be "talked about" at length for how strange it is for a Victorian era love triangle to be all women - it just is. Too many times filmmakers like to make it a point to show just how accepting and avante garde they are for featuring an LGBTQ relationship onscreen that it actually detracts from the point of the relationship. I loved that in this movie. While I didn't know going into it that it was part of the story, I also never questioned it as it happened. In fact, I thought it added another beautiful layer to an already twisted story. Becoming "the favorite" has a much deeper and sinister meaning for the one who prevails, which also leads to dire consequences, not just for the other, but for the whole of Britain and the outcome of the war with the French.

The writing is crisp and the directing is on point - other than several scenes shot with a panoramic lens (or fish eye lens - I couldn't tell sometimes) because they were distracting and took me immediately out of the film. But the cast helped elevate the movie. Rachel Weisz is great, as always, playing the cruel Sarah who also shares a real love and soft spot for the Queen. You will always fear her and wonder if her loyalties lie with Queen or with country, but you never question her love for Anne. Nearly every line uttered from her mouth is jaw-dropping in its malice and inevitably hilarious. Emma Stone is great and she nails it with the accent. Never once was it distracting and unbelievable. And because she is such a likable person, she lends that likability over to Abigail so we, as the audience, instinctually trust her, when by the end, we know we shouldn't. Olivia Coleman steals the show. This movie was written for her and it shows. She WILL be nominated for an Oscar because she plays Queen Anne with such a juvenile temperament, which lends to the most fun of the movie. She's so bipolar, you never know what you're going to get. One minute she's laughing and giggling, then she hears music and goes into a rage tantrum. She's not dumb, though, she's ultimately just as manipulative as Sarah and Abigail, but plays it off as aloof. She's brilliant.

While The Favourite, on the surface, may not look like your cup of tea, I urge you to give it a chance. It's funny, it's fun, it's dark, it's full of delicious wickedness and some of the best British insults you'll ever hear. The story itself could be presented in any time period and be just as brilliantly vile, but I think having it set when its set, with the characters we get, lends to the fun of the film that I already want to see again. I highly recommend it.

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