The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos' filmography is a dread bestiary filled with human seeming creatures vying for dominance. Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara's script for The Favourite, detailing the rivalry between Sarah Churchill and Abigail Masham for the favor of Queen Anne of England, is an ideal fit for the director. The script makes no pretense of historical accuracy. the plot is merely a pretext for a very modern tale of power and sexual one-upmanship; a la The Scarlet Empress.

The costumes, dances, revelry and sexual intrigues are exaggerated to the point of grotesquerie. Lanthimos emphasizes the baroque aspects of the monarchial splendor and debauchery. Fisheye lenses and low angles are utilized to show off the voluptuousness of Queen Anne's palace, nearly the sole setting in the film. The still center of the film is Olivia Colman's bloated Anne, both a voluptuary and a prisoner of her appetites. Her unchecked power coupled with her unrestrained appetites cause her to be possessed by her need for comfort. Her neediness overwhelms her, much as her pet rabbits overwhelm the frame at the film's conclusion. Lanthimos keeps a still camera on the Queen, the cynosure of her Court. He uses tracking shots of the rivals as they scurry in and about the palace. Lanthimos views them as worker bees busily serving the arbitrary dictates of their queen.

Lanthimos has such a distinctive eye that he has not gotten enough credit for the handling of his players. Emma Stone would seem to be an odd choice for Abigail, a role tailor made for a young UK thespian like Florence Pugh or Saoirse Ronan. However, Ms. Stone nails her character's desperation and ambition and doesn't overdo the accent. Olivia Colman offers a warts and all performance of a beleaguered Queen that has been justly lauded.

Rachel Weisz's performance is the emotional center of the film and reflects her rapport with Lanthimos. The audience's initial sympathy is with the scrappy outsider, Abigail. Weisz and Lanthimos stress the iron resolve and brusqueness of Sarah. However, by the film's end when the tables have turned and Sarah has been cast out, Lanthimos provides a dash of sympathy for Sarah. The shot of Sarah in darkness holding a candle while beseeching her Queen reflects the notion that Sarah, alone at court, is willing to speak unpleasant truths to her friend and ruler. This is counterpointed by a very bright shot of the obdurate monarch overwhelmed by the baroque splendor of her chamber.

The male players are largely superfluous to the drama of The Favourite, but they are all fine; especially Nicholas Hoult. It will be interesting to see how the success of this film will alter Lanthimos' career trajectory. The Favorite is his most accomplished film to date, but Lanthimos always verges on artistic overreach.