Review: The Favourite

Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos has once again trained his camera on a scene of domestic horror - however, this time it's the queen of England, two women and several men who are vying for her attentions as opposed to the dysfunctional families on whom the filmmaker typically focuses. A film about royals might not be the first picture you'd imagine Lanthimos taking on, but his latest ends up being one of his best movies to date.

As the film opens, ailing and eccentric Queen Anne (a wonderful Olivia Colman) rules the land with the help of her trusty confidante, adviser and lover Sarah (Rachel Weisz), who is based on Sarah Churchill. The balance in the castle is interrupted with the arrival of Abigail Hill (Emma Stone, like you've never seen her before), a seemingly winsome daughter of a fallen aristocrat who is also apparently a cousin of Sarah. At first, Abigail is relegated to working as a maid, after having arrived at the castle's doorstep covered in mud. But after finding an antidote for a severe rash from which the queen suffers, she finds her fortunes on the rise.

Although history notes that the queen and Sarah did, in fact, have a close relationship and that their friendship later soured, while Hill indeed became a favorite of the monarch, it's very likely that some great liberties are taken in the film. It's no matter as Lanthimos utilizes the rivalry between Sarah and Abigail to great comedic effect. You'll likely be laughing when you're not wincing. Imagine "All About Eve," but more outrageous, raunchy and foul mouthed. A scene in which a suitor makes repeated failed attempts to woo Abigail in the woods is alone worth the price of admission.

Considering our current political moment, "The Favourite" involves some timely themes regarding women in power. The film concerns itself with a power struggle - of that between Sarah and Abigail for the queen's attentions, although there's a great final shot in which we are given a hint about who has had the power, both figuratively and literally, between the three women all along.

Lanthimos is a talented filmmaker, although his tales of domestic strife have occasionally been hit or miss. His breakthrough film, "Dogtooth," was a fascinating oddity that was both hilarious and horrifying, while "The Lobster," although imperfect, was wildly original. "Alps" was a misfire and his previous film, "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," was a fine example of a director's style parodying itself. With "The Favourite," the director finds himself back on track.

This is a sharp, often hilarious, occasionally mortifying and wonderfully acted film. It's certainly different from most of the other movies about royals that you typically see around this time of year. The picture is stylish and prone to flourishes - the use of a fisheye lens is a curious choice - and the director's trademark style lends itself well to the material. Even those who have not taken to Lanthimos' previous works could very likely be impressed by this one.