Mostly good

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2019)

Based on true events: in 1708, Great Britain's Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) struggles with various health issues as her attention is desired by two female companions. One is Sarah Churchill, Lady Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) who uses her good relations with the queen to manipulate political situations on behalf of herself and her husband. The other is Abagail Hill (Emma Stone), Sarah's poor cousin who is trying to gain a higher social status.
Like many other recent films, "The Favourite" has the handicap of incomprehensible mumbling, most often from Weisz. It doesn't help that director Yorgos Lanthimos has chosen various scenes to include music that overpowers the actors' voices. Despite this liability, the film intrigues for the most part including high achievements in the period sets, costumes, and cinematography.
Colman does a fine job in the film's most fascinating role. On the one hand, Queen Anne is a hapless twit whose character and intelligence are below her fortunate accident of birth (how often is this the case?). On the other hand, she can be a likeable soul who is vulnerable and overwhelmed with responsible matters that rarely interest her - thus, she is easy to manipulate.
"The Favourite" is a fine story of hyper-ambition and social climbing that encourages a vicious rivalry. It also tells the sad, old well-known story that the one who tries to slay a demon often becomes one in the end despite the best intentions before the rivalry.