This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
🫀Instacrushmovielover™💀’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
"Oh, it is fun to be queen sometimes!"
More. A professional filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos continues to go on his journey of filmmaking with "The Favourite" A lavish 18th century film set amongst the war between France and the state of England. Yorgos did a lot here. He made a masterpiece that's somewhat became my favorite film of the year. A type of masterpiece I can view over hundred viewings without getting tired of what it represents, depicts or invade in terms of its dark humor. Like Yorgos's previous film "The Lobster" it depicted this time that Yorgos didn't come up with a unique concept rather adapt the relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill and her cousin Abigail Hill. You might think Queen Anne is a bit of an overrated Queen to even discuss here but the fact this movie won best picture instead of Green Book, something tells me this was that specific movie.
The Favourite has competition, compassion, absolute serenity and has the pitch shifted style to it. I was absolutely stunned by the film's 1.85.1 aspect ratio. Something about that aspect ratio choice was something Yorgos Lanthimos can handle. In terms of artistic integrity, this had to be fortunate because, damn, was I in love with the aspect ratio. It gives the realization that you're transported into an eventual point in history where our central main characters are just as pleasant, just as angry, just as deceiving to rip each other apart as Gordon Ramsey being an upset freak about the lamb sauce. It gives that feel that no matter how big of a masterpiece the film can be, Yorgos can transfer you the big aspect ratio you can find. Other films containing beautiful aspect ratio like "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "The Lighthouse" or "First Reformed" do have significant style in framing the panel. The Favourite picks on this believable aspect ratio like if it was a thing. It is and we can grant Yorgos for it.
England, 18th century. France and the state of England are at war with each other all in the name of Catholicism or the Parliament act grows increasingly debatable to have a war against themselves. Meanwhile our film's main protagonist Abigail Hill, cousin of Lady Marlborough or Sarah Churchill, Abigail gets thrown into a floor of mud because of an Englishmen going too far deep into absolute pleasure or feels aroused by Abigail's central beauty sexually. It was a scene that's explained in great detail not facts. Abigail Hill becomes Queen Anne's servant for the kingdom. Although Abigail Hill loves her work in the kingdom, it's her cousin that has more passion for Queen Anne then Abigail herself. What this film does is give us an epic so random and absurd that it has to leave it for the two cousins to see who loves who. Sarah Churchill is passionate about Anne and her well-being; Abigail doesn't feel it since she only serves for the Queen than anything else. That's why the war or absolute jealously the two have is nothing but quiet chaos that is better off seen.
Nothing Yorgos does is terrible. He's corresponding action of cameras is rather impressive on a grandiose scale. Yes, this film is grandiose for beautiful landscapes of England's forest, the kingdom itself. But what really grabbed me the most was the look of the film. The look of this film gave this film it's unique personality. Even if you don't notice it, he renders the color palette, lighting into a cohesive, seasonal look that is combined with the humor itself. There are scenes where it's in the dark since in 18th Century England, technology, lamps or electricity did not even exist until now. All they had was candles. The candles do engrave the lighting choices. I could see what was going on when it was shot in the dark. Everything feels organic and natural most of the time until its daytime and the look of it, lighting still is impressive on such grandiose scales. The Lobster too tackled enough lighting choices already. That film looked like if Her was more depressing then it sounds. Although it deconstructs science fiction, the look had to be paler and shifted into a unique atmosphere I could relate to.
It's the invasion of lighting that's specific enough to catch my eye. The film itself feels visually adaptive. Emma Stone's performance playing Abigail Hill is both expressed in three words, one her British accent unlike other actresses or actors who have been associated with British driven films, Stone allows herself to be the center of giving one good yet convincing British accent that sounded incredible. Rachel Weisz on the other hand was especially excellent. She may or may not be given the best roles out there in her career, but there was a starting point in which her performance was the highlight in her career to keep going. That is until she starred in Black Widow. She did such a great job with her role here that she had to star in a Billion Dollar Marvel movie with no quality whatsoever. I just think the three main female leads's career will do fine eventually, I mean go check out the Lost Daughter with the ever-great Olivia Colman! :).
Olivia Colman. She's an actress of delivering good lines decent that it is easy for me to discuss her character here. Olivia Colman's portrayal of Queen Anne was absolutely one of the best performances she gave in her entire career. Queen Anne is depicted like a spoiled queen who has a bad temper every once in a while, nobody can stare at her right in the eye according to the scene where she states "You were looking at me! close your eyes!" It was the scene that's stuffed with the fact a master like Yorgos Lanthimos can direct actors beautifully if given the right material. Colman was the right choice to play Queen Anne and it was established Queen Anne suffered through a disease called "Gout" a nocturnal infection that prevented her from walking and throughout the film Queen Anne goes through museful, intense pain that even a masterful Queen Anne can handle. She delivers her lines beautifully without hesitation. Since the Queen Anne was at pain at the time, Olivia Colman delivers on every single level with her performance.
I know everything about Queen Anne, in history class my teacher did teach me everything about Queen Anne and her participation in such Catholicism and religious beliefs that transformed her into the Queen she was in the 18th century. Roman Catholicism did affect her birth or even her entire family. I wrote an essay about Queen Anne's history on Catholicism, religious beliefs and teachings of religion between here and her family. Also, it contains all of her initial background about her "early years'', "childhood" and her relationship with her own family nor husband. Before I get into that, I would love to discuss the film first then go on with it. This had become my favorite film of the year so it's evident of me putting the essay into the review.
It was the kind of essay I appreciated writing for my final exam or even grade if you will. For starters, reading a segment where it explains the entire history of this specific Queen Anne is something I never put in my review. After watching the film version of Queen Anne's life, I had to write the essay. Because everything I've learned was basic, almost too interesting to even ignore or not even hear. Everything about this Queen's life was interesting to me. This film expresses more heart and visual thrill to her relationship between two mistresses that it's subject matter or character study wise feels rewarded because of it. You can tell Yorgos Lanthimos put time and effort into the characters and every single thing in between. He's attention to detail goes far beyond why we need him right know for cinema.
First off, the cinematography by Robbie Ryan was striking. Robbie Ryan has worked as a cinematographer with films such as "Fish Tank" recent "C'mon, C'mon", "American Honey" and "Marriage Story". He's the type of person to helm this beautiful realm of royals fighting for the right of their Englishman namesake. He presents these scenes with shot that's beautiful frame by frame. The zoom ins, cuts feel intricate and stylistic. Everything a shot represents in great detail is structured beautifully and its planned before shooting. I think for certain the editing gives the environment of excessive cutting more value and art to it than it really seems. The editing evaluates a scene and here, The Favourite has editing so rare in fact I had to keep in mind while writing this. Its editing done well.
The pitch-black humor is combined with the well-written dialogue. It's said that the dialogue evaluates the humor in a non-linear humorous fashion. I think combining the humor with the dialogue was impressive here. I laughed at certain scenes. The scene where Sarah Churchill is at a state of getting food poisoned then falls off her horse getting too dragged by her horse is an example of lighthearted dark humor that I can take from a filmmaker like Yorgos Lanthimos. You have duck racing or eating pineapples or shooting birds in the sky for food. There were the types of elements I've see Yorgos do better and this one excels at that.
Alright, this is the essay I wrote in history class. It took me time and lot of effort to pull it off perfectly. Read at your own risk please. This is at heart may not be the kind of thing you read in a Letterboxd review like this.
Anne Stuart (Queen Anne) was an overlooked person to be become Queen of England. Queen Anne was born on February 6, 1665 to the Duke and Duchess of York and was their second daughter out of three children. Shortly before her birth, her uncle, King Charles II, recently married also destined to have a large family after fathering several kids in his age. However, he had no more children. As Anne grew older, she would be plagued by numerous health problems, but she survived to adulthood. She only received a limited education, yet Anne would tin reign during a critically important period in her nation's history. One domestic and one foreign. The first being the Act of the Union that united England and Scotland. The second was a major international war, the War of Spanish Succession. Best remembered as the last of the Stuart dynasty Anne had no heirs. The events of her reign would pave the way for Britian to become an international world power.
Although born into pure royalty, her education was similar to that of other aristocratic girls: languages and music. Her knowledge of history was limited and she received no instruction in civil law or military stuff that most male monarchs were expected to have. She was also a sickly child, and may have suffered from the blood disease porphyria, as well as having poor vision and a serious case of smallpox at the age of 12. Poor health would plague Anne her entire life, probably contributing to her many miscarriages. Anne grew up in an atmosphere of controversy because of her father's James's the Duke of York, and both her mother and later her stepmother were Roman Catholic. They would have been preferred to raise Anne and Mary as Roman Catholism. Nevertheless, prominent Protestants, such as Henry Compton, later bishop of state of London.
Interceded and ensured the girls would not only be required to attend Protestant services but that they also receive Protestant religious tin instructions. Anne's life dramatically changed when the Lord Treasurer and Earl of Danby, in an attempt to strengthen his influence with King Charles II, arranged the marriage of Anne's sister, Mary, to William of Orange. Their father, the Duke of York, had wanted to wed Mary to the heir to the French Throne, a Roman Catholic. Danby persuaded by the King to allow the marriage to William, a Dutch Protestant and a enemy of France, thus straining the close relationship between Anne and her close friend Mary. Anne married Prince George of Denmark. This was an arrangement Anne's father negotiated in secret with sponsorship by King Louis XIV of France, who hoped for an Anglo-Danish alliance with William Orange and the Dutch. No such alliance would ever be too materialized.
Her husband did not affect Anne's position as he remained politically weak and inactive, suffering from drinking problems. Prince George's influence in matters of state would remain small throughout marriage. The relationship he had with Anne was a close one and she loved him deeply. Even though, their marriage was saddened by Anne's twelve miscarriages and the fact that none of their other five children reaches adulthood. When King Charles II died in 1686, Anne's father became King James II. His Roman Catholicism and his desire to rule without Parliament's input caused Parliament to call on William of Orange and Mary to take the throne for herself.
In the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This revolution created one major constitutional, limited monarchy in England, were elected yet stronger representatives, not a dynastic monarch, truly ruled. Interestingly later Queen Anne became the last British monarch and the last person to vote the act of Parliament. Anne supported the revolution and strongly opposed her father. Mary allowed her husband to rule, and neither get along with Anne during their reign. But since they never had children, after Mary tragically died, followed by William, in 1702, the throne then passed to Anne. The Settlement Act of 1701 paved the way for Anne's reign. It stated that if Anne died without children, the throne would pass to the German Hanoverians. The only challenge was her half-brother James, a Roman Catholic living in exile in France. Thus, Anne ascended as the last Stuart monarch, and was the first married queen to rule England.
Anne's reign would be characterized by the attempts of others to even be manipulate her. Most significantly among these individuals was in fact Sarah Churchill herself. A close friend of Anne's since childhood, Anne leaned heavily on her for companionship. After Anne's marriage she named Sarah to the prestigious position of Lady of Bedchamber. After Anne became queen, she named Sarah to other prominent posts including Keeper of the Privy Purse, Mistress of the Robes and Groom of the Stole. Their relationship for many years was a close one with Anne showering Sarah with large allowances and special gifts, such as the huge and incredible Blenheim estate. The estate was given to the Churchill's as a reward for John Churchill's important military victory in the War of Spanish Succession. Anne often seemed dependent on Sarah, at least for emotional support. Anne would constantly write to Sarah when Sarah was away from the court attending to her family. Anne's letters made it seem like she cannot get along without Sarah. They would constantly use extreme measures of playful pseudonyms when writing to each other. Anne being Mrs. Morley and Sarah Mrs. Freeman. Their relationship would eventually fall due to Sarah's awful nagging and their many petty arguments. Sarah would fall out of favor in fact and would be replaced as Anne's favorite by a distant cousin, Abigail Hill Masham.
The finale of Anne's friendship with Sarah signaled a charge in political influence. Although Anne had become stronger over time throughout her reign, she had aggressively supported the War of Spanish succession, a Whig War. Sarah Churchill was a Whig and her husband John, though a Tory, was the leading English general in the conflict. Because of the Churchill's influence, Anne had always been inclined to support the war which was the most important event in foreign affairs during Anne's reign. Although, when Abigail Masham a Tory replaced Sarah as Anne's close friend it visualized a shift in politics. Some fellow historians believe Anne manipulated her ministers to enact the policies she wanted while others see her as a monarch manipulated by her own ministers. Whatever the case, when the Tories came into power, they negotiated an end to the war forever.
The Settlement Act of 1701 had furiously frustrated Scotland, where the Stuart dynasty had originated. The Scots physically threatened to bring back James, Anne's Roman Catholic half-brother and pretender to the throne, to rule. To head off a revolt and unite support for the crown, Anne pushed for the Act of Union which would unite England and Scotland. The Act of Union was finally accepted in 1707. In the last couple years of her life, Anne became very sick once again. She was often bedridden and attended to by fellow doctors. These doctors use many techniques to try to cure Anne including bleeding her and apply hot steamy irons. These crude medicinal techniques probably did more harm than good, and Anne tragically died on July 31st 1714.
While there is no answer to this historiographical problem, it is clear to reexamine Anne's reign as has been the case with that. Queen Anne symbolizes the role of the monarchy prior to the "rise of Parliament" in the Hanoverian age. In the Whiggish school, Anne's reign handsomely hindered the "progress" that men such as John Locke and David Hume advocated for in British government, such as Locke's argument for big religious toleration and thoughts concerning property ownership.
Much of the English queenship and early modern political history that remains fixated on Tudor and Plantagenet women, the six wives of the great Henry VIII, Elizabeth of York, and Margaret of Anjou. The Palgrave Macmillan series. If the historiography of Anne and, indeed other women remain overshadowed by tragedies, how might our specific comprehension transcend their adversities? The time has come for scholars to conduct studies that view tragic heroines such as Anne beyond the events and characterizations that provide them with that label as her reign contributed more to British history than the death of William of Gloucester.
End of Segment.
The Favourite is indeed my favorite film of the year. Yorgos's direction for this film captures exactly what I've wanted from his films. The pitch-black humor, interesting characters, unique production design and some of the best sound mixing I've heard in films since Marvel's Black Panther. The costume design, cinematography feels organic in its presentation. Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz all gave natural, incredible performances. Nicolas Hoult was also excellent in his role. My experience with this film comes from a warm place. It's the fact I adore Yorgos Lanthimos as a filmmaker here. He's choices here is absolutely astounding for such a high prolife period peace.
In conclusion expect yourself to see The Favourite. Some of the best things about this movie is the three female leads and how impressive it looks from the inside and out. As a film it's significantly rarer than any other film I've seen in years. I just wonder what Yorgos might do next with his other upcoming projects. I hope their good. Overall, Yorgos Lanthimos's The Favourite was one of the greatest films I've seen all year. Hope you enjoy reading my essay :). What a ride.