The Favourite

Regardless of what time period it takes place it, there's always something entertaining when two opposing individuals are squabbling over a position of power. The comedy that can result from such antics offer an entertainment value that makes the watch worth it when it's done with the right actors, director, and solid script (examples include Election (1999) and The Death of Stalin (2017)). This brings us to The Favourite, a new film from director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Dear) and written by Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara. The marketing campaign didn't show too much about the premise, which brought some intrigue, and there has been major awards buzz surrounding this movie. Without having seen any of the directors recent works, I went into the auditorium to see how much of its strong positive critical reviews this was worth and left if very entertained by one of the funniest dark comedies I've seen this year.

Plot: Taking place in 18th century Britain, the story follows two cousins quarreling against one another to gain the Queen's favor, which opens up opportunities of power and influence. The best way to summarize the kind of style this is leaning towards is to imagine the quirky nature of Amadeus (1984) and the modernization of a rivalry from Mean Girls (2004) merged together as an episodic soap opera, which is complete with numbered chapters that appear with interesting titles. The driving force of this plot is how each character interacts with each other that's accompanied by very witty dialog that's not afraid to be direct with their intentions. With the developments that are going on, the pacing is pretty smooth with the runtime. It should be noted that there are some bizarre yet stylistic scenes that happen which take getting used.

The noticeable negative holding this back is the execution of the ending that could have been more fleshed out and less artistic. It's a pet peeve that's similar to the same issue with You Were Never Really Here and First Reformed but to this is ones credit, the ending isn't as rushed as those.

Characters: The people to focus on are Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), and Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz). Anne is a queen whose fragile health is suffering from gout, which affects her interest and confidence in governing her people. Olivia is an excellent powerhouse in her acting that shows a wide range of emotions and humor necessary for this dark tale, which is one of the best displays of acting form 2018 (even stronger than Lady Gaga from A Star is Born). Abigail is Sarah's poor cousin who's strives to improve her job prospects by competing to become a court favorite. Emma gives a great performance as an individual whose determined to rise out of a bad situation her life has dealt her, no matter what actions she'll do in the process.

Sarah is Anne's confidant and advisor whose current seat of influence finds itself endangered by Abigail's efforts. Rachel gives a great performance that complements that of Emma's in how her character reacts to the feud in a frustrating yet kind of restrained manner. An honorable mention Samuel Masham (Joe Alwyn) for being a welcome screen presence, his chemistry with Emma, and his hilarious dance scene.

Overall Consensus: The Favourite succeeds through excellent acting, a smart witty script, hilarious humor, and a stylistic modernization. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4🎟🍿 Runtime: 2 Hours R

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You are a fan of the director Yorgos Lanthimos. You enjoy historical period pieces and dark humor. You don’t mind seeing nudity as displayed in the 18th century. You are curious about the awards contenders.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You aren't a fan of the director Yorgos Lanthimos. You hate historical period pieces and dark humor. You are sensitive to seeing nudity as displayed in the 18th century.