The Favourite

1/20/2019

Overrated? Most assuredly, but utterly engaging from beginning to end. Not Yorgos' most humorous piece, but technically sound and brilliantly acted. _Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

2/8/2019

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :) The Favourite is one of the most acclaimed movies of last year, receiving multiple nominations at dozens of awards shows and winning a whole bunch of them (2nd most awarded film of 2018, behind Roma). Being a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos’ style, I couldn’t be happier for him, and I was now even more excited to watch what he produced and directed. This movie is a classic example of an Oscars’ tradition of sorts. A lot of audience members make their mission to watch every Best Picture nominee before the big night, and there’s always one film that people fail to grasp on why did it get so much praise? Why are critics all around the world absolutely loving what audiences perceive as an “okay” time at the theater, but which co

5/24/2019

Hugely entertaining film from start to finish, with amazing performances from the three lead women. Emma Stone proves that once again she's not just a pretty face as the conniving and troubled Abigail, Rachel Weisz is always on form as the controlling and vindictive Sarah and Olivia Coleman deserved the Oscar as the childish and sickly Queen Anne. Nicholas Hoult's foppish rogue Harley steals every scene he is in. Yorgos Lanthimos once again has made a beautifully shot film using mostly natural light. I can't overstate that this film looks gorgeous. Many times over I thought of Barry Lyndon, but with tonnes of humour, foul language, and no Ryan O'Neal to destroy the soul of the film. I originally gave this 9/10 because I didn't like the use of fish-eye lens, but I couldn't stop think

7/5/2019

**_Fans of Yorgos Lanthimos will love it_** > _A setback for women? How can it set women back to prove that women fart and vomit and hate and love and do all the things men do? All human beings are the same. We're all multifaceted, many-layered, disgusting and gorgeous and powerful and weak and filthy and brilliant. That's what's nice. It doesn't make women an old-fashioned thing of delicacy._ - Olivia Colman; "_The Favourite_ Blows Up Gender Politics With the Year's Most Outrageous Love Triangle" (Tatiana Siegel); _The Hollywood Reporter_ (November 14, 2018) _The Favourite_, the seventh feature from Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, is a film that eschews both convention and expectation. On the other hand, it's also Lanthimos's most accessible by a country mile. Imagine, if you will

3/22/2020

Some wounds do not close; I have many such. One just walks around with them and sometimes one can feel them filling with blood. The Favourite is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. It stars Olivia Colman, Rachael Weisz, Emma Stone, Faye Daveney, James Smith, Mark Gatiss, Willem Dalby and Nicholas Hoult. In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne (Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah (Weisz), governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail (Stone), arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. A critical darling with awards and nominations to match, The Favourite, to me at least, is something of an acquired taste. Firstly it should be noted that as a history lesson it's pure bunkum, so much so I

5/29/2024

Queen Anne was one of the few British monarchs still to have had her story committed to film and this was the Oscar winning result. Olivia Coleman stands out as the cantankerous and temperamental last of the Stuart's to reign; but otherwise the performances fall rather flat. The rivalry - and sometimes pretty vulgar visualisation of it - between Abigail & Sarah Churchill doesn't quite work for me and the foppish Nicholas Hoult is a parody of something from "Blackadder". It moves along quite sharpishly, and the craft skills behind it all are second to none, but I can't help feel that the subject matter - and the triplet of three strong women in leading roles earned it more attention that the film actually merited.