Review of The Favourite (2018) by Dawdlingpoet — 21 Nov 2021

This film features plenty in the way of majesty and grandeur. Being a Yorgos Lanthimos film, its really quite insular and almost voyeuristic in a sense, with the fish eye lens camerawork. There are some sexual scenes present and also very strong, graphic language used throughout, so be aware of that (hence the 15 rating it carries). There is a distinct sense of back stabbing present and it was an intriguing watch, seeing who attempts to out smart or out-do who and so on. The costumes are, of course, lavish and the cast all do well in their roles, which certainly helps. This is a film well worth seeing, for Olivia Coleman and Emma Stones performances, if nothing else - just don't expect it to be a Downtown Abbey type film, mostly suitable for family viewing, as this isn't. Its, at heart, a film depicting power play.

Its about as edgy as most of Lanthimos' other films, with some good pieces of witty dialogue and also worth mentioning, I feel, is the classical score, which helps add to the atmosphere of most scenes. It may be a slightly slow moving film, plot wise, but its certainly an engrossing watch overall, so I recommend it on that basis.