Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite is the story of two cousins who compete against one another to become the favorite and counsel for Queen Anne during the early 18th Century. The film is a study of two women trying to be the closest confidant to Queen Anne who is suffering from depression as she is also coping with events in her palace unaware of what is happening in England. Starring Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, Joe Alwyn, Mark Gatiss, James Smith, and Nicholas Hoult. The Favourite is a rapturous and outrageous film from Yorgos Lanthimos.
Set in the early 18th Century during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701 to 1714, the film follows the life of Queen Anne of England (Olivia Colman) who is dealing with depression and various issues in and out of her palace as she is suddenly pulled in an emotional tug of war in who can be her closest confidant between two cousins. It’s a film that plays into a woman who is leading a country but is incapable of running things where her adviser and lover Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) would be the queen’s spokeswoman. Along the way, she would take in her impoverished cousin Abigail (Emma Stone) who is given a job to work at the palace and later be Sarah’s assistant only to gain favor from the queen. The film’s screenplay by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara does take some dramatic liberties with some of the personal events in Queen Anne’s life in favor of some of the legendary rumors about her. Yet, they do maintain this air of disconnect of the queen as it relates to what is happening in her country.
Notably as there’s a conflict within Parliament as Tory party member Robert Harley (Nicholas Hoult) is against the queen’s idea of doubling property taxes to further fund the war as it was suggested by Sarah and Sidney Godolphin (James Smith). Harley would use Abigail to try and influence the queen as she would become attracted towards a young baron in Samuel Masham (Joe Alwyn) only for Abigail to do small things to win the queen over leading to problems with Sarah. The script doesn’t just play into this tension of favoritism between these two women but it also this dialogue that is biting and also crass in its delivery. Especially in the usage of profanity in how they refer to certain characters in the film as it would intensify during the course of the film as the rivalry between Sarah and Abigail over the queen’s affections become more dangerous.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ direction definitely has an element of style in not just its compositions but the overall presentation of the film. Shot mainly on location at the Hatfield House in Hertfordshire in Britain, the film does play into this period of turmoil with the queen trying to distract herself with food, 17 bunny rabbits, and all sorts of things but it’s not enough as she’s constantly crying over pain in her body and other things. While there are some wide shots in the film, Lanthimos would use fish-eye lenses to get coverage of some of the locations including Parliament, the kitchen, and other things as a way to not rely on tracking shots or hand-held cameras with the exception of a few moments with the usage of dolly to follow a character. Still, Lanthimos maintains an intimacy into his direction in the way he would show these three women interacting with one another as well as put them in a shot at a certain position for some unique compositions and framing.
Lanthimos’ usage of close-ups play into some of the reaction of the characters including Sarah and Abigail in their game of one-upmanship that intensifies as the story progresses. With Sarah being a master and a woman of control, Abigail would slowly learn how to scheme as it would play into her development of someone who was an innocent and impoverished woman with a knowledge of herbs and other small things into someone who gets loss through the usage of power. Lanthimos uses this idea of power-play as two women trying to win over the queen’s favor where Abigail is a woman that is constantly thinking of the bigger picture for England as she has to deal with someone like Harley who has his own ideas that Abigail believes would hurt the country and make Queen Anne look bad in front of the world.
Lanthimos would up the ante during the film’s third act where it is about the reversal of fortunes for Sarah and Abigail with the two both enduring a change in favoritism. Yet, it would also reveal some harsh realities for both women as it relates to the queen. Lanthimos’ direction would become less stylish and more eerie in its compositions with Queen Anne being roped in the middle and becoming disconnected with what is happening with her country. It also play into the idea of human nature and what some will do to maintain a certain position in the palace but also think about the fact that Queen Anne is a woman that has to make the final decisions for her country and these decisions would have an impact on the country. Overall, Lanthimos crafts an intoxicating yet darkly comical film about two women of the court trying to become the favorite for Queen Anne.
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does incredible work with the film’s cinematography in its usage of candlelight and natural lighting for many of the film’s nighttime interior scenes as well as providing some naturalistic colors for some of the film’s daytime interior/exterior scenes. Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis does amazing work with the film’s editing with its stylish usage of dissolves and superimposed images as well as some jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts to play into the drama and humor. Production designer Fiona Crombie, with set decorator Alice Felton and supervising art director Lynne Huitson, does excellent work with the look of the many interiors of the house including the queen’s bedroom, the main hall, and the room where Parliament meets. Costume designer Sandy Powell does brilliant work with the costumes in the design of the dresses that the women wear including some of the lavish ones Queen Anne wears as well as some of the clothes that the men wear.
Hair/makeup designer Nadia Stacey does fantastic work with the look of the wigs the men wore including the makeup that is sported by both men and women in parties as well as the look of the queen. Special effects supervisor Bob Thorne and visual effects supervisor Ed Bruce do terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it relates to scenes of Abigail and Sarah shooting birds in the sky. Sound designer Johnnie Burn does superb work with the sound in maintaining an atmosphere in the locations and the way sounds are heard from another room and other elements that help play into the drama while Burn also provide some low-key ambient-like music pieces that pop up occasionally.
Music supervisors Sarah Giles and Nick Payne do nice work with the film’s soundtrack as it mainly feature an array of classical and experimental music pieces from the likes of Johann Sebastian Bach, W.F. Bach, George Frideric Handel, Henry Purcell, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Antonio Vivaldi, Olivier Messiaen, Luc Ferrari, Anna Meredith, and a contemporary piece by Elton John in the film’s final credits.
The casting by Dixie Chassay is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Jenny Rainsford as a tavern owner in Mae, James Smith as the 1st Earl of Godolphin in Sidney Godolphin who is often on Sarah’s side of things relating to politics, and Mark Gatiss as Sarah’s husband in the 1st Duke of Marlborough in John Churchill who leads a regiment as he’s trying to help England win the war. Joe Alwyn is superb as 1st Baron Masham in Samuel Masham as a young baron who falls for Abigail though he’s hired by Harley to woo her as he is essentially a cuckold that is used by everyone. Nicholas Hoult is fantastic as the 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer in Robert Harley as a political figure and landowner who is opposed to the ideas that Sarah is trying to have to fund the war as he is someone that wants the war to end as he’s slimy and full of devilish charm.
Emma Stone is incredible as Abigail as a young woman who was once a lady and is forced to work as a servant where her knowledge of herbal medicine would help the ailing queen as she later becomes Sarah’s assistant and become a close confidant of the queen where she displays a dark demeanor who becomes enamored with the decadence of palace life. Rachel Weisz is phenomenal as the Duchess of Marlborough in Sarah Churchill who is the queen’s closest advisor and lover as she tries to handle the many things that queen needs to decide on as she is very protective of her while she becomes threatened by Abigail whom she’s forced to compete with as well as deal with the severity of Abigail’s own plotting. Finally, there’s Olivia Colman in a tremendous performance as Anne, Queen of Great Britain as a woman filled with self-doubt, grief, and insecurities that are key to her depression as someone that is needed and to be loved while trying to run a country unaware of what is really going on despite Sarah’s counseling where she turns to Abigail for comfort as she would unknowingly play into the chaos in her own palace as it’s a career-defining performance for Colman.
The Favourite is a spectacular film from Yorgos Lanthimos that features great performances from Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone. Along with its ensemble cast, its whimsical script, gorgeous look, intricate sound work, and its offbeat approach to music. It’s a period drama that doesn’t play by the rules while being a study of favoritism, grief, and power told in a strange love triangle between three women. In the end, The Favourite is a magnificent film from Yorgos Lanthimos.
Yorgos Lanthimos Films: (My Best Friend (2001 film)) – (Kinetta) – Dogtooth - (The Alps (2011 film)) – The Lobster - (The Killing of a Sacred Deer)
© thevoid99 2019
(Winner of the Palm Dog Jury Prize to Bob the Dog, Queer Palm Special Mention, and the Jury Prize at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, The Lobster is the story of a man who arrives at a compound where he’s given forty-five days to find a new partner or else he turns into an animal. It’s a film that explores isolation and the need to find someone in a world that is almost dystopian where human beings are desperate to connect or else they get themselves into serious trouble. Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, and Michael Smiley. The Lobster is a whimsical and rapturous film from Yorgos Lanthimos.
Set in a futuristic dystopian world where a person has to have a partner as loneliness is forbidden, the film revolves around a man whose wife has left him for another man where he goes to a compound to find a new partner in 45 days or else he’s turned into an animal where he gets another chance to find a companion as that animal. It’s a film that plays into this absurdist dystopian world about the need to not be lonely as everyone has to be with someone and with a family in order for society to thrive or else they become animals or outcasts at worst. The film’s screenplay by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou is largely told from the perspective of an outsider who narrates the film as her identity isn’t revealed until the film’s second half as she tells the story of David (Colin Farrell) who would enter this idyllic compound that is like a resort of sorts for lonely people to get their chance to find a partner. In this hotel, he would befriend a man with a lisp named Robert (John C. Reilly) and a man with a limp named John (Ben Whishaw) who are also trying to seek partners in this offbeat hotel resort.
Among their activities in order to prolong their time search in finding a partner include hunting loners who refuse to play by society’s rules and if they manage to hunt these loners, they would be given additional days to find a partner. When one finds a partner, they’re moved into a different part of the hotel where they would get to know each other and would be given a child in case there’s an argument or something. Then they’re moved to a yacht to continue the courtship until they’re moved to the city to spend the rest of their lives. Yet, there is something off as masturbation is forbidden as sexual stimulation from a staff member is mandatory though clothes are kept on. For David, it’s something he has to accept as much of the action takes place in the first half until he tries to partner up with a cold-hearted woman (Angeliki Papoulia) that goes horribly wrong. The film’s second half is set in the forest where David becomes a loner and meets up with a loner faction that forbids romance from happening yet David ends up falling for a short-sighted woman (Rachel Weisz). Their relationship is kept secret yet it becomes harder when their leader (Lea Seydoux) becomes suspicious as David would realize that both the loner faction and those wanting to people to be partnered up have their flaws in their methods.
Lanthimos’ direction is intoxicating for not just capturing this element of dystopia as it is set in a modern world but also creating something that does feel offbeat and strange. Shot largely in Ireland with the city shot on location in Dublin, the film does play into this clash of ideals in two worlds where the city is where society thrives on couples being together to maintain this idyllic society. Lanthimos would use wide shots to capture the look of the city where it does look futuristic in some areas yet maintains something that does feel like it’s near the present while he would also shoot in these locations such as the fields, mountains, and lakes. The hotel/compound where David would stay nearby these natural surroundings do give the film this look that is like a paradise of sorts but there’s also something off in Lanthimos’ direction from the fact that those without partners live in modest though posh-like rooms while the couples would live in a more spacious room that has more perks.
Lanthimos’ approach to close-ups and medium shots play into how characters interact with one another in which there’s a sequence where John tries to win over the nosebleed woman (Jessica Barden) by claiming he also gets frequent nosebleeds. It’s among some of the film’s comical events along with the scene of the loners dancing to music on their headphones which goes to show both the world of the couples and the world of the loners are. Still, there is that element of how repressed this world can be in a scene where David, short-sighted woman, the loner leader, and an associate walk to the city as they pretend to be couples as everyone has to have papers to prove they’re a couple or else they get sent to the compound. Lanthimos showcase a world where both sides is cruel as David’s infatuation with the short-sighted women is out of pure love but that’s not what the loners want nor does the people at the hotel want as they care about survival of the fittest rather than living. Overall, Lanthimos crafts a riveting yet abstract film about an absurd dystopian world where humans must find a mate or else become an animal.
Cinematographer Thimios Bakatakis does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lighting and slightly-yellow color for some of the interiors set at night to a somewhat greyish look for the daytime exterior scenes in the forest and at the city. Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward in terms of its lack of style with some slow-motion sequences such as a few of the hunting scenes. Production designer Jacqueline Abrahams does amazing work with the look of the hotel in its rooms and various outside activities including its spa as well as the home of the loner leader’s parents. Costume designer Sarah Blenkinsop does fantastic work with the costumes from the clothes the people at the compound have to wear to the raincoats that the loners wear at the forests.
Hair designer Eileen Buggy and makeup designer Sharon Doyle do terrific work with the look of the characters as much of it is straightforward to play into the look of conformity to a more ragged look for the loners when they’re in the forest. Visual effects supervisors Pierre Buffin and Olivier Cauwet do wonderful work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it relates to some of the animals that lurk around the forest and lakes. Sound designer/music composer Johnnie Burn does incredible work with the sound work in capturing the atmosphere of the locations and what goes on inside the hotels and cities while much of the music he creates is largely a low-key ambient score for a few scenes in the forest while music supervisor Amy Ashworth provides a music soundtrack that is a mixture of classical and contemporary music with contributions from Ludwig Van Beethoven, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Benjamin Britten, Danai, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds with Kylie Minogue.
The casting by Jina Jay is tremendous as it features some notable small roles from Roger Ashton-Griffiths as an eye doctor for the short-sighted woman, Anthony Dougall as the 70-year old waiter at the hotel, Roland Ferrandi and Imelda Nagle Ryan as the loner leader’s parents, EmmaEdel O’Shea as the nosebleed woman’s best friend, Michael Smiley as the loner leader’s associate, Ashley Jensen as a woman who often carry biscuits at the compound, Ewen MacIntosh as a hotel guard, and Olivia Colman in a terrific performance as the hotel manager who spouts propaganda ideas of partnership yet forbids any idea of true happiness. Jessica Barden is fantastic as a young woman who has frequent nosebleeds as she tries to find a partner who would be her equal as well as handle her nosebleeds. Angeliki Papoulia is excellent as the heartless woman as someone who is a real cold-hearted bitch that doesn’t care if anyone gets hurt as well as being an able hunter who likes to hunt loners so she can extend her search for her equal.
Ariane Labed is brilliant as the hotel maid whose job is to dry-hump David as well as be someone to cater to everyone at the hotel yet also carries a secret about her role as it’s a great mixture of humor and restraint. Lea Seydoux is amazing as the loner leader as a woman who leads a faction of loners who believes that love only leads to trouble and that loneliness is the only way people can live despite her attachments to her parents whom she visits occasionally. John C. Reilly and Ben Whishaw are great in their respective roles as Robert and John with the former suffering from a lisp as he has trouble connecting with the women and the latter having a limp as he would find a way to get the woman with the nosebleeds. Rachel Weisz is incredible as the short-sighted woman who is part of the loner faction as she falls for David as she realizes that everything that the loners stand for is false as she and David try to keep their relationship a secret. Finally, there’s Colin Farrell in a sensational performance as David as a man whose wife has left him as he joins the hotel compound to find a new partner as he’s accompanied by his dog Bob as he copes with the need to find a partner only for things to go wrong as it’s an offbeat performance from Farrell who provides a sense of restraint but also an sweet awkwardness to his performance.
The Lobster is a phenomenal film from Yorgos Lanthimos. Featuring a great ensemble cast, an offbeat premise, gorgeous visuals, and a hypnotic soundtrack. It’s a film that plays into the absurdity of people needing to connect without the chance to find themselves or someone that they can spend their life with as it is filled with humor and drama as it’s told in a very abstract and hilarious style. In the end, The Lobster is a tremendous film from Yorgos Lanthimos.
Yorgos Lanthimos Films: (My Best Friend (2001 film)) – (Kinetta) – Dogtooth - (Alps (2011 film)) – (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) – The Favourite
© thevoid99 2018
