Misleading advertising - depressing and overrated

Rating: 3/10 (26 April 2019)

Set during the 18th century reign of Queen Anne in England, The Favourite focuses primarily on the dueling relationship between two women - Lady Sarah of Marlborough and her cousin Abigail - in their bid to oust the other from a position of power in court through the Queen's favor.
Judging from the non-stop adverts for the film and its designation at the Golden Globes, one would expect to view a savage comedy of manners, but instead the final result is anything but comical. More often than not, it is downright depressing, tiresome and childish. The film gives us a brief crash course in the political maneuvering. Parliament is split, there is a war going on, taxes are high and everyone is jockeying for a foothold on which to sway the Queen. The serious decision making seems to be delegated to the Queen's current favorite lady-in-waiting, Sarah, a childhood friend. Into the mix arrives Sarah's black sheep cousin Abigail, who initially snags a job as a maid, but ingratiates herself with Sarah, and then ultimately the Queen. This leads to a power play between Sarah and Abigail as to who will retain the Queen's favor.
Where to start! Given that the film strives for some degree of authenticity and received serious awards, it appears to play havoc with both facts and atmosphere. I really do not see ladies-in-waiting at court dropping f-bombs. The film also devolves into a series of sordid lesbian encounters between the Queen and Sarah, and later the Queen and Abigail. Granted that history is up in the air about whether or not such encounters happened or were the product of malicious gossip intended to damage the Queen, much of it ostensibly initiated by Sarah in retaliation for being replaced. However, I think given the players and history involved, there are more intriguing stories to be told here than settling on questionable salacious encounters as a centerpiece. Unfortunately, that is not the road chosen by the writers and the director.
The film is not overly long in running time, but ultimately feels at least double. Not sure if it is just me, but the odd score was off-putting as well. Technical aspects like costumes, sets, etc., are top-notch.
Emma Stone gives one of her best performances as the initially fresh-faced, but ultimately manipulative Abigail. She seems genuinely concerned and open, so the audience gets suckered into her machinations as well. Conversely, Rachel Weisz is all subtlety, intelligence and snark, as Sarah. The film dramatically overstates the kind of power the Queen gave Sarah in governance, but Weisz is completely credible pushing around sputtering men of power and leaving them stewing in their own juices.
Where I differ in the acting department is in Olivia Colman's performance as Queen Anne. Anne was considered a bland monarch (barring the lesbian gossip) plagued by miscarriages, the deaths of children, and questionable health, but still managed to rank some serious accomplishments during her reign. Colman was a surprise upset winner for Best Actress, but damned if I know why. Although I did not carry a stop watch, it seems that Colman has less screen time than co-stars Stone and Weisz, who landed in the supporting actress category, which makes her inclusion as Best Actress indefensible. Worse, I really find her the least of the three actresses here. Colman's Anne is depicted as an easily manipulated, weak, mewling child. We never get any indication that this woman could rise to the occasion of even minimal leadership. She is a one-note caricature to be either pitied or repelled by, who is eternally at the mercies of outside forces and the whims of heinous lying shrews. I freely admit that my disdain for the part could be the fault of how the writers have envisioned Anne, but I would be remiss in not pointing out that Colman does absolutely nothing to transcend the problem or breath any semblance of dignity into the role. Her Anne is merely a plot contrivance to set up the rivalry between the real leads - Stone and Weisz - and then retire to the sidelines to marinate in her own apathy and weakness. Not a fan of her work here at all.
Although the advertising for this film includes some savage one-liners, the film is almost devoid of comedy. Certainly the latter half is no laughing matter. The depressing climax which finds Anne duped into ostracizing Sarah (and her husband) into outright exile, Anne being felled by a crippling stroke which makes her more of an emotionally unstable infant than before, and Abigail realizing that her role as a favorite (including pleasuring the Queen in a dead-eyed manner) is not all it was cracked up to be, will leave no one skipping out in high spirits. A real desperate miss here.