If you love film you should recognse this IS a masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (13 January 2019)

I have seen this movie twice now.
Anyone who gives this less than a 9 - please ignore their view. They are not into movies. That simple. That might sound completely pretentious of me but truly. Anyone giving this a bad review... it is beyond my understanding. You can dislike it sure. But you cannot as a film fan hate this.
What you have here is a masterpiece.
The Favourite is not at all a comedy. It absolutely DOES have comedy liners of genius delivered by a female trio who all deserve the highest of praise. It is not a comedy though. This movie is deadly serious. I don't hear enough praise for this film from the feminist crowd complaining there are not enough strong female leads. This has three. Quite possibly three of the finest most powerful figures to grace cinema. and oh how they mock the men. and boy do the men deserve to be mocked.
Quite why the Golden Globes placed this in the comedy/musical category will forever be a mystery and a big mistake.
It is very very hard to pick which actress gives the best performance. Rachel Weisz probably but only by the tiniest of margins.
My first viewing I was captivated. Mesmerized. I was in a small crowd. some people laughed at the oddest moments. Everyone seemed to find a different section hilarious. My favourite comedic line was about 'bathing in cream to soothe haemorrhoids' but there are so many swift sharp comedy blows. The script is magnificent. Again I stress this is not a comedy. I don't even want to gategorize or pick a genre. A period piece, a drama? A comedy...
The Favourite is so many things.
On my first viewing I left the cinema feeling like I had quite possibly watched the most perfect film. Genuinely a film of perfection. Is that possible? Certainly the best movie of 2019 and 2018. By a long long way.
The Directors last work 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' unsettled me so so much. I have watched that twice and on second viewing again it shook me to the core. The Favourite excels though in every way. It is way more accessible than any of Yorgos Lanthimos previous work. The historic elements are plainly and clearly stated yet never overstated. Characters are introduced with such ease and lines of such power. The glorious mesmerising spectacle of it all made me feel gluttonous. Greedy. I felt a passion and desire for the spectacle of it all. and felt shamed. Which I believe is the point. Queen Anne tries as she might to enjoy simple pleasures but all they do is bring back the panic of loss. Watch her face as she begins to enjoy a piece of dance, or music. Then watch as the pure panic sets in. She is terrified of a simple life pleasure dare it be taken away. I think Olivia Coleman said something about Anne being absolutely allowed to act however she pleases. Anyone going through such suffering is justified to act mad, eccentric, greedy and naughty. Of course they are. The Queen Anne of whom I knew nothing about before this movie is not a pathetic figure however. She has strength. Assuredly. She is not someone to be mocked and laughed at.
You have three main characters all striving to forget their pains through pleasure and power. A never ending life struggle. We all have this struggle and the message sent here is power obviously corrupts. Greed, love and lust will never conquer the pain you feel. No one ever truly wins. Manipulation to get what you want is a prominent theme and again providing the same result. Temporary pleasure then deep loss and pain.
This film caught me at a very sombre melancholic period of my life and I felt every single intimate agonizing second. This will be a movie I watch into double or maybe even triple figures. Laugh with the script and madness of it all. Bathe in its beauty for as long as you can and possibly quite possibly you will never reach such dizzying heights again. The ending was glorious and made complete sense to me. What you make of it... well that's for you. I am sure many people will take many different things from this masterpiece.
A bad review should never be one of them. Ignore them and get to the cinema as soon as you possibly can.
Masterpiece.