London Film Festival 2018: 'The Favourite' Film Review

This review contains mild spoilers for the first act of 'The Favourite'.

The Favourite (based on Ophelia Feild's novel of the same name) relishes in the royal rumour surrounding England's Queen Anne. The last reigning Stuart monarch allegedly engaged in a scandalous affair with two fellow ladies in her court - a lesbian love affair that isn't widely spoken about in educational establishments.

Yorgos Lanthimos, a director known for his quirky comedies, found himself inspired by this premise and has delivered a wickedly funny film that, annoyingly, left me a bit lost. Here, Emma Stone (Abigail) and Rachel Weisz (Sarah, Abigail's cousin) portray the aristocrats vying for Queen Anne's affection (Olivia Coleman). 

Let's talk first about the acting, and that conversation must be led by Rachel Weisz. The British actress takes on a role with more depth than any other in the film, and finds herself in a staggeringly nuanced position as the film ends. The majority of the film is delivered to the audience through the perspective of Emma Stone's character Abigail. While it's ultimately Weisz who proves to be the most compelling of the pair, this approach allows the audience to discover courtly scandals as Abigail does, allowing for fantastic twists, shocks and moments packed with tension.

Olivia Coleman definitely proves herself worthy of a Best Actress nomination for her performance of the 'insipid' Queen Anne. Coleman seems to relish in the freedom that the role of the childish queen offers her and she delivers some of the film's biggest laughs.

The intentions of the three main leads are all rather ambiguous, making for some massively intriguing cinema. It is unclear whether Abigail and Sarah genuinely find themselves attracted to the Queen or if they're solely using her for their own political manipulations. I suspect a bit of both, but every interpretation is valid. Regardless, this queer period drama stands this year alongside Colette as one of the unfortunately few, genuinely enjoyable queer films. 

Compared to Lanthimos' other films (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) The Favourite is undoubtedly his most accessible to a mainstream movie audience. There's something fabulous about the grandeur of a well-done period film and the gossipy drama of the royal court. It was only the final scene that left me a bit lost - it presents audiences with truly surreal imagery for the first time in the film and, while I'm sure there definitely was a message underneath, I'm not quite sure what it was.

Still, The Favourite is a greatly enjoyable, wacky dromedy that's sure to garner a lot of heat during awards season. It's worth seeing for the laughs alone (the humour here is exceedingly dry) but be aware that this is as much of an artistic endeavor as it is a comedic one. It is this artistic flourish which has the potential to put mainstream movie-goers off.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Written by James Green