Review of The Favourite (2018) by Olivierpiel — 02 Jan 2019

Move over Barry Lyndon! Lanthimos atomizes Kubrick in this film. What a very witty tour de force. He took almost exactly the same themes and succeeded where Kubrick failed. As a teenager I was in love with that movie, the exquisite photography, the incredible tension and the score of course.

But Barry Lyndon felt soulless, a form of "anti-cinema", with gorgeous vignettes followed by weak exposition scenes, and atrocious dialogues. Lanthimos remedies all this here. This was the age of the Baroque, of the extravagance.

Therefore he introduces a wild, outrageous cinematography that more acutely exposes the decadence of the 17th century aristocracy, than Kubrick's simple homage to classical paintings and music. The scene where Queen Anne tells a small quintet playing atrocious Haendel to bugger off was a nod to this I think.

Minus 2 points for the miscasting of Emma Stone. Overacting, too self-aware, too American. Very annoying. Almost ruins this very funny film.