The Favourite: 'It's all about me!'

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2018)

Set in 18th century England, Director Yorgos Lanthimos's "The Favourite" stars Emma Stone as maid Abigail and Rachel Weisz as Lady Sarah, who both serve Queen Anne, played by amazing Olivia Colman. In "The Favourite" Abigail and Sarah contest to be Anne's 'favourite' in more than conventional distinctions.
Rachel's Sarah is Lady Marlborough, whose husband leads the English military campaign against the French. The physically unattractive self-aware Queen suffers from gout and associated maladies; thus, rendering Sarah as her renegade proxy. The Machiavellian Sarah instructs Anne to double the taxes to finance the War effort to support her husband, ending the War, and bringing him home.
Pretty young Abigail, played by Emma, arrives on the scene reunited with her cousin Sarah, played by Rachel. Abigail was from a noble family, but dark financial times beset her Father, who sold her to the older German rival, essentially selling her into sexual slavery. Consequently, Abigail is driven by redemption. She seeks to regain her nobility and stature at any cost. Perhaps, cousin Sarah becomes her leverage point?
Sarah enlists Abigail to tend to the Queen, while she basically manages the affairs of England. The skilled herbalist Abigail soon gains favored status of Anne, played by Olivia. One night while surprisingly educated Abigail reads in Anne's library, she discovers the nature of Sarah's relationship with the Queen. It becomes transparent to Abigail what she must do to become the Queen's "Favourite".
Olivia plays Anne with touching wounded loneliness. Her Anne knows that she can get whatever she wants, because she is the Queen. If not for that, hardly anyone would want anything to do with her. Olivia's profound sadness in Anne humanizes the angry beast. She exposes the lightness and darkness in Anne, and in ourselves. Anne is all about herself, as is everyone in Writers Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara's narrative.
In a defining scene in a local bar, Emma's Abigail confesses, "I'm on my side!" The hysterical, yet mostly anguished narrative of "The Favourite" is: It's all about me. In Yorgos's tale women rule with power up front and behind the scenes. This is not necessarily the polarized #Metoo narrative either. Yorgos depicts the well of ugliness in society in vast contrast to the stunning visuals of Robbie Ryan's beautiful cinematography. We see Sarah riding her horse on the immaculate English estate. At the same time, Abigail and Sarah scheme to one up the other in gaining the Queen's favors in the palace.
Both Emma and Rachel are inspired. Rachel's Sarah is the regal lioness, who takes no prisoners. However, in her utter humiliation Rachel reveals her humanity in redemption. Emma is brilliant initially enrolling us in the suffering innocent maiden with the tortured soul. Emma subtly transforms Abigail as the gentle eyed ruthless mercenary. For Abigail the ends and the means are the same. In the heartbreaking scene Sarah cries to Anne, "I never lied to you... That's love." Perhaps, love is more than just that.
"The Favourite" might be one of the best movies of the year. Yet, I wasn't on anyone's "side" in "The Favourite". Everyone in the movie is all about themselves. I suppose that's Yorgos, Deborah and Tony's point. "The Favourite" is hysterical with its clever banter of classism and sexism. Yet, ultimately it is all very sad. Everyone uses someone else. And so goes the world of "The Favourite". "The Favourite" is a great movie, although not my favorite. Let's put it this way: I won't be seeing it again.