Uncomfortable and a bit boring despite its talent

Rating: 4/10 (29 February 2020)

The script for this star-studded period comedy-drama has been in circulation since the late 90s and has finally been greenlit with writers Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara and Director Yorgos Lanthimos. The setting is early 18th Century England (filmed at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire!) Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) is in rule and assisted by her close friend and confidante Sarah (Rachel Weisz). A new servant arrives, Abigail (Emma Stone), who starts to work up the ranks and gain the trust of Queen Anne. And so begins a dangerous rivalry. This is the third film I have seen by Lanthimos and both films previously were completely different sides of the spectrum for me. I really didn't like Dogtooth; although it was an interesting premise, I found its rough edges to be too rough and isolating which I guess is the point of the film but not for me. On the other hand, I absolutely loved The Lobster which was a genuinely brilliant, funny yet darkly savage look at a dystopian future. The Favourite leans more towards the former for me; it felt strangely uninvolving despite the good performances and I found myself just looking at the screen rather than being engaged as it went on. There are some brilliant moments though particularly thanks to Olivia Colman who is stunningly great as always; the close up camera shots of her are so good, portraying the pathos and sadness of the character of Anne extremely well. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are also great as ever and have a lot of fun in the roles of consistently trying to outsmart the other. There is a brutal moment involving self-mutilation with a book that reminded me of the most shocking moments in The Lobster. The ending frames are also hauntingly amazing; edited beautifully by Yorgos Mavropsaridis! Lanthimos is a master of uncomfortable atmosphere and brooding darkness which can go either way; in the case of The Favourite it's a bit of a mixed bag. When it works particularly during the eerily quiet moments, it's really good but when it's uncomfortably bizarre which is the majority of the time it's a bit of a numb watch