Summary
5 tech score
“The Favourite” (Fox Searchlight)
“The Favourite” is definitely not my favorite movie of the past year. Not even close. I don’t know what I was expecting this movie to be but it was not what I got when I watched it. The movie reminded me of the old Bette Davis film “All About Eve” set in 18th century England. Two women are fighting to be the power behind the throne of Queen Anne and they will do anything to obtain and/or keep that role. They will use all of the tools in their arsenal be it brains, beauty or sex.
The movie is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos of “The Lobster” fame. That was one of my least liked movies of the year in which it was released. I am not a fan of his shock culture ways of presenting a comedy/drama. It is a different way of telling a story but different is not always better. In “The Favourite” he uses sex and coarse language to titillate the audience while yo-yoing the plot between comedy and drama.
He story focuses on Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and her chief advisor Sara, Duchess of Marlboro (Rachel Weisz). Sara speaks bluntly to the Queen on all matters but actually does love her. They have been friends since childhood and the bond between them is hard to breach.
Enter Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), a cousin of Sara’s whose family haas fallen upon hard times. She comes to Sara for help and ends up working in the kitchen. Abigail however is a shrewd young woman and she sees a path to the Queen’s chamber and to her bed. This is where the tension of plot increases as the two women battle for the Queen’s favor.
The acting by the three main characters is first rate with Colman being outstanding, but Weisz and Stone are also close competition. The male actors such as Nicholas Hoult and Joe Alwyn are just props for several scenes with the women.
The plot at times moves quickly but at others bogs down in political intrigue. There is a war with France to be fought but that takes men and money and the Queen can’t make up her mind if she is all in or all out. Sara is for taxing the people and funding the war while Abigail gets drawn into the group that wants peace and withdrawal. This is another source of conflict between the two women.
The film is rated R for profanity, sexual activity and mild violence.
My main objection to the film is that there is no one – no one – in the movie that is likable. So what you get is an elongated story about three despicable people and how they might have affected English history. Or as I saw it, “All About Eve” circa 1700.
I scored “The Favourite” an unliked 5 out of 10.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
