Unfortunately, The Favourite wasn't my favourite!

Rating: 2/10 (20 January 2019)

The clips that I'd seen from scrolling through various social media platforms had caught my eye and prompted me to go and watch the trailer for the film, which I thought looked very funny and it seemed to have great reviews as well. Little did I know at this point, that it was all of the funny parts from the film that were in the trailer so I could have just left it at that; it would have saved myself two uncomfortable hours.
Saying that, it wasn't all bad. The costume was good and the hair and makeup were periodically accurate of the most part - early 18th century. This is stuff that I take particular notice of when I watch a film because it really does make a difference and adds a great deal to the final product. The special effects makeup was good also. Lady Marlborough's cuts, bruises and scars were realistic and Queen Ann's stroke makeup was very good; we didn't need to be told that she had suffered a stroke, it was clear from the makeup and performance as to what had happened to her. I'm glad it was done this way, as the subtlety worked well.
It was clear that the film had a decent budget as no detail was unthought-of and as a whole, came across as a well made film. The main idea and storyline was good but it was very boring and slow at times. The "funny stuff" distracted from the plot which gave the whole this a kind of messy feel. When I use the word "funny", what I actually mean is slightly amusing. The only part that actually made me properly laugh was the badger makeup scene and I had already seen that a few times from clips and the trailer so it had lost some of its effect by the time I got to the cinema to watch the film.
I enjoyed the performances and each character along with their relationships were well established. They didn't mess around giving us unnecessary back story. The way we were informed of who was who, how they knew each other etc was clear and to the point however, it was lacking something. I didn't really care about the characters and whether they succeeded or not. When they got hurt or beaten by another character, it didn't really bother me. I was more concerned about the welfare of the rabbits within the story! Those cages were not big enough for all of those bunnies!
The whole film had a strange merge of period drama and modern day elements. I think this as an idea is a good one, and good on Yorgos Lanthimos the director for trying it, but it didn't work for me. It was mostly the modern elements which were supposed to be the funny ones, for example the dance scene, but I think overall it would have been a much better film had the modern day references been left behind and it had just focussed on being a period piece. I didn't like the layout of the wording on the title screens in between scenes.
I need to point out that I had high expectations for this film and sadly, I left disappointed. It did at one point cross my mind to get up and leave and I honestly think I would have done, if I had gone to see it alone. And sadly, I looked at my watch 4 times during it, one time being about 45 minutes in and I remember thinking "oh no, still so long to go until the end". Unfortunately, The Favourite wasn't my favourite!