gabriel’s review published on Letterboxd:
2018's best film.
Borderline perfection. A ridiculously brilliant tale of power, ambition, love and the control each can take on you as a person. Yogos is a master of absurdity, of knowing just how far to go. I loved The Lobster for its peculiarities, The Killing of a Sacred Deer was even better for its twisted nature but The Favourite is something else. It transports you to a new world with its tight and witty script, the striking score that's so characteristic of Yogos' films and that so perfectly tells you how you should feel, the beautiful camerawork and the cast that so carefully handles this group of eccentric characters. A film topped by an amazing trio of women that couldn't have had a better dynamic as the power shifted through them as well as our perceptions of them as human beings. Colman, Stone and Weisz all did a wonderful job and I wish all three of them could be rewarded for it.
The ending scene has got to be one of the most memorable and brilliant scenes of the year. At first I was in a state of confusion, as I normally am when confronted with Yogos' mind, but once I wrapped my head around it I just loved the film even more. It's the type of closing scene that sticks with you, as it should.
I'm not usually fond of period pieces, not in the slightest, but I knew I was going to love this. I just didn't know how amazed I would be by it.
A lot more could be said but for me this is it. My little cinephile heart is at its fullest and I cannot wait to go through all of this again.