One of my favorite films of last year was "Phantom Thread" which was an illustration of a manic dressmaker's love in post-war London. While "The Favourite" occurs much earlier and around much different circumstances, the film brings about a similar essence that is in a word, superb.
THE FAVOURITE Official Trailer #2 (2018) Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz Movie HDYouTube
"The Favourite" is incredibly hard to explain without giving away major plot details, so I'll only give a brief explanation of what surrounds the film. After a poor and distraught Abigail (Emma Stone) seeks refuge in the kingdom of the current Queen of England Anne, a lot ends up coming her way including politics, war, love triangles, and a violent fight for power.
Emma Stone gives one of her best performances of her career, proving that she can act not just as a sweet and endearing lady, but also as a stone cold viper. It's definitely a new kind of acting for Stone, and she just nailed it as usual.
Rachel Weisz is also quite excellent, doing the exact same things Emma Stone does in her acting. Almost every character in this film is two-faced and it's portrayed with unexpected ease that makes the film entirely more interesting to watch.
With that being said, one of the most noticeable parts of "The Favourite" is how each character changes so drastically in a matter of minutes. Minor characters change rather quickly while the more major characters use the entire film to take a much different persona than we are introduced to. I for one love when we see huge changes in characters over the course of any art because I feel it more teaches us about the different personalities and feelings people can develop over time, or that they held them initially, to begin with, and I find that to be a huge theme of "The Favourite."
Another aspect of the film that I adore is that of the soundtrack. There's not really an original score to this film, but rather a collection of classical songs that fit the scene beautiful. I can't get Vivaldi's Viola d'amore Concerto out of my head, as it rings through the film from start to finish. It's tone and emotion fit the film perfectly, and the choice to include it was genius.
My only reservation is that I wish the film were longer! It was so excellent that I wanted more from this world, and I specifically wanted more closure on the ending that was truly shocking and unbelievable. I simply just wanted more closure.
With that being set aside, "The Favourite" is as complete a film as it can get. It features some beautiful camerawork and cinematography, superb costumes, excellent acting, and a top-notch script. This film is shocking and engaging from start to finish and you won't regret giving it a watch on your next theatre visit.
