Review of The Favourite (2018) by Sofie M — 15 Dec 2018

One of the best movies with one of the worst endings ever. Director Yorgos Lanthimos period comedy revolving around the famously glutinous Queen Anne and her contending courtiers had an opportunity to be a conversation about economic disparity and the corrupting influence of proximity to power. In fact it is, but it undercuts itself by its mixed tones and a lack of ending clarity. The locations are great, but we have seen them before. The cinematography is lavish. The costume design is more than adequate. This musical score is a strong contender for best score of the year. I found a nit to pick with the use of interior wide angle lenses. The good thing is that the rooms are on display from glorious wall to wall including high end stuccoed ceilings, which would be great for a real estate ad. The bad thing is that the characters are relatively small in that frame, and the panning movements, of which there are plenty are jarring, distorting, and mildly nauseating.

The performances are first rate. The film is more of a 3 person ensemble than a movie with a specific lead. I largely felt like I was following the adventures of a fallen lady named Abigail played by Emma Stone. Then I wondered if Rachel Weissâ(TM) Duchess of Marlborough had loftier goals than parlour intrigue in a drive to keep a cohesive unconquered England. I felt our gout-ridden Queen Anne, played by Olivia Coleman was appropriately mercurial, but what we lacked was her back story. It would inform us today to know what it was like to start life with every bit of luxury available and then to live through almost 50 more years of it. The dialogue is quick and biting. But story should be king or in this case queen, and that is where The Favourite stumbles a bit. I certainly know that the real Duke Marlborough achieved some great victories and was bequeathed with one the finest palaces ever, Blenheim. The film does not lead us toward any outcome in this regard. No doubt this is due to the fact that the Marlboroughâ(TM)s really did fall out of favor in Queen Anneâ(TM)s latter days. Ultimately the courtly backstabbing leads the viewer to literally nothing. I was really admiring this film up until the end. SPOILER: SERIOUSLY: THIS IS A SPOILER: The last scene gets disturbingly metaphorical as Abigail squeezes a rabbit underfoot and then is forced to give a leg massage that is kind of ârapeyâ?, while images of bunnies signifying loss and life wounds crowd the screen. I understand that the courtier is corrupted, and the courtier and the throne are locked in an unhappy relationship. I just didnâ(TM)t like the ending, because of that dive to artsy pretentiousness.