An early favorite to score a boatload of Oscar nominations, The Favourite is more than worthy of that kind of high praise. Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman put on a clinic in Yorgos Lanthimos’ darkly comic and brilliantly bodacious look at Queen Anne and the two women who went to the ends of the earth to stay in her good favor… or is it favour?
It is early 18th century England, and Queen Anne (Colman) of the country is not necessarily all together there. She has health issues and even some mental challenges that seem to make her ruling the empire a bit difficult. Luckily for her, she has her faithful companion,someone she has known since childhood, Lady Sarah (Weisz), by her side to confer on matters of state—both large and small.
Abigail (Stone) lands at the royal residence hoping to secure a job of any kind at the palace. Given the fact that she is the cousin of Lady Sarah, she is pretty positive that can happen. She starts working in the kitchen and what screenwriters Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara illustrate immediately is that Abigail is an opportunist of the highest order. The Queen has a severe case of the gout and Abigail sneaks into her bedroom and applies an herb remedy to her legs and feet. Shockingly, it works and suddenly, she now has the attention of the royal.
That doesn’t sit well with Lady Sarah, who has devoted her life to the Queen and she will not let her place in the royal court go or even be reduced because of her conniving cousin. To her detriment, that is exactly what happens.
Lanthimos (The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer)has always been a pointed filmmaker, crafting work that never feels anywhere remotely near passive or middle of the road. Every creative choice he makes with The Favourite is stunningly pitch perfect, from his scarce use of a score to camera angles and even which part of his actors’ bodies he chooses to shoot. What’s so fascinating is each one of those artistic decisions adds layers of power—emotionally, viscerally and even physiologically—for the viewer. He has never been necessarily lauded as an “actor’s director.” But I would argue that the way he frames his performers delivering their truth to how he allows his camera to linger on non-traditional moments in the scope of the storytelling cinematically elevates his ensemble’s work.
This is a side of Stone that we’ve never seen prior.She is devious, but simultaneously compelling and someone the viewer can have a strong affinity for while she leads her palace life in a manner that feels as if she would kill her own family pet to get ahead. Her actions are never without cost, whether to Lady Sarah, Queen Anne, herself or anyone in the royal court. It is in this way that Stone’s talent is elevated to new levels—that is extraordinary as we are talking about the reigning winner for Best Actress. Her Abigail reminds us of that old saying about March—but in reverse. She comes in like a lamb and leaves like a lion.
Weisz is her usually awesome self and has such a commanding presence as Lady Sarah that the virtual tug-of-war that goes on between her and her cousin is explosive without ever getting violent. This is classical England, after all, and everything—even if it is something that could get a lifelong member of the court thrown out in the cold—is done in a manner that is poised and proper. Through Weisz’s characterization, the audience can feel her frustration that is practically boiling over at any given moment. Yet,she remains firmly in control of her emotions—even though it would be understood if she were to completely lose it. It is a reserved performance that is among the best of the year and certainly of Weisz’s highly decorated career.
The headline here is not the dueling cousins—although they are incredible—it is Colman. What she delivers as the troubled Queen Anne is nothing short of a movie miracle. She goes from an almost childlike state to a raging entitled royal to an aging monarch barely holding on to her facilities—all within a ten-minute span. It’s uncanny. Her arc and how these two women who support her play into that character development is a testament to Colman’s talent and the meaty part and rich lines she is given by the screenwriters. She deserves all the Oscar love.
Speaking of the Academy, The Favourite must earn a Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress(for Colman) and two Best Supporting Actress nods (for Weisz and Stone). Also,on my list is a screenplay nod, as well as a Best Cinematography nod, Best Production Design, Best Editing and Best Score.
Although firmly a Lanthimos film, The Favourite is by far is most approachable artistry yet. The work still possesses his trademark flair for the extreme corners of moviemaking where the real and absurd perform a beautiful dance, while astutely keeping his ey eon the prize… which is telling this outrageous tale of an unstable queen caught between two souls who would do absolutely anythingto stay in her favour.
Grade: A