************************This review contains spoilers****************************
The Favourite finds us in 18th century England during a time of war with the French. Leading England at this time is Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), a sick and impressionable queen lacking self confidence, flanked by her close friend and advisor Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz). Soon, a new servant named Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives at the palace, a former Lady herself who eventually found herself poor and sold to old men following her father’s loss of everything to debts and gambling. Abigail soon utilizes her charm to climb the ranks in the Queen’s court, seizing an opportunity return to her aristocratic roots, but must get there before Lady Sarah has the chance to thwart her efforts.
The Favourite is a thorough illustration of the complicated ways in which sex, love, and power intersect. Queen Anne is a feeble, sick, impressionable ruler and as such, finds herself a ripe target for manipulation. Everyone in the Queen’s court is jockeying to curry favor with her for their own ends and these disingenuous relationships muddy the waters for her to be able to discern who genuinely has her best interests at heart and who cares for her versus who is simply being duplicitous. Lady Sarah has spent years establishing herself as the most trusted person in the Queen’s circle, through the use of both the carrot and the stick. Sarah’s blunt, forceful counsel, at times plainly ordering the indecisive Queen how to act, represents the stick. The pair also carry on an illicit love affair which represents the loving, tender touch that brings the Queen closer to her. In seeking to gain the Queen’s attention, and eventually her trust, Abigail takes the opposite tack and ingratiates herself with the throne by interacting with the Queen purely through flattery and acquiescence. Whereas Sarah offers a sort of tough, commanding love, Abigail agrees with everything the Queen says and tells her how great she is at all times. This worshipful treatment allows Abigail to usurp Sarah’s place next to the Queen over time (including in her bed), presenting herself as having the Queen’s best interests at heart through her less demanding relationship with her, juxtaposed to Sarah’s more controlling nature, despite Abigail’s true selfish intentions.
Which raises the questions that the film seeks to explore in its theme; what constitutes love and how is the love for another most genuinely displayed? Abigail uses pure flattery to win the Queen’s favor, indulging her every thought and desire, never presenting any opposition to her thoughts and making her feel as if she is the most perfect being in all of England. Lady Sarah on the other hand expresses her love for Queen Anne by advising her in the most honest way she knows how. She gives her the best strategic advice she can, even when it goes contrary to what the Queen desires. When it is contrary to the Queen’s wants, Sarah does not hesitate to tell her royal highness that her thoughts are dumb and will result in catastrophe. This kind of forceful counsel negatively plays into Queen Anne’s feelings of inadequacy, but when compared to Abigail’s love as a manipulative means to an end, we’re faced with the old conundrum of whether someone truly loves you if they’re not willing to tell you when you are wrong. The audience is aware of Abigail’s true intent but we have all been in the position of Queen Anne, unsure of ourselves and caught up in the allure of the person who tells us all that we wish to hear as opposed to those who, although by our side for years, present us with a love that is more challenging instead of permissive. Queen Anne comes to realize that Sarah’s bluntly truthful counsel and handling of her was more rooted in genuine love than the conniving affection Abigail had used to gain her favor. This realization, which comes too late into the game, sends Queen Anne into even more of a depressive state which she tries to rectify through the sexual humiliation and power grab against Abigail during the film’s final scene.
Indeed, sex as a means of gaining entry into people’s lives and marching down the path toward gaining power is a frequent occurrence in The Favourite, from Sarah using it when the Queen needs reassurance from a jealous fit, to Abigail using it to solidify her place at the Queen’s side, to the Queen using the dual relationships to get Abigail and Sarah to compete with her, to the presence of Baron Samuel Masham (Joe Alwyn) who is used by both Abigail and Earl Robert Harley (Nicholas Hoult) as a suitor for Abigail for the purpose of further their own goals. Watching this sexual game of thrones play out onscreen reminded me of the legendary Oscar Wilde quote regarding the nature of sex: “Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.” Every instance involving sex and the characters at the center of the film’s story, the sex they indulged with among one another had more to do with their quest for power and advantage over others rather than love or even lust. Power is at the center of physical intimacy in the film not just in terms of the characters using it to reach their own ends, but also in how Queen Anne loses her own power when she allows herself to be manipulated through sex then attempts to regain it by using sex to reassert her power over Abigail once she fully realizes the extent of her conniving. As a society that views sex mostly as a means of titillation, seeing it presented in a way completely separate from pleasure and instead as an extension of methodical planning and cunning was interesting to watch unfold.
The Favourite features some of the best performances of the year from its three main actresses in Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz. Colman in particular presents one of 2018’s best acting performances, convincingly playing a leader in charge of a powerful country that feels as if she’s not in control of her own life, longing for some semblance being cared for amidst the great personal loss she has suffered over the years. Despite the thematic depth present in the film as outlined above, The Favourite is equal parts comedy and Colman delivers a hilarious performance in spades, as do her costars. Her performance has catapulted her firmly in the lead in the Best Supporting Actress category for the upcoming awards season. Emma Stone also uses the film to announce herself as an awards contender, turning in another notable performance as the cunning and sociopathic Abigail, determined to return to her former station in life at any cost. Stone takes the character from a funny and entertainingly flawed woman who has been understandably turned cold due to circumstances beyond her control, to a truly evil human being that has hurt numerous people for her own selfish reasons. Watching Stone’s character manipulate her way up the ladder in the Queen’s court was a thrilling part of the experience of watching the film. Rachel Weisz was also good as the stoic Lady Sarah, struggling to keep her place by the Queen’s side against an ambitious challenger. Their struggle for supremacy and where the audience learns which is in the lead at the moment is displayed visually by director Yorgos Lanthimos during the scenes where Sarah and Abigail go pigeon shooting on the palace grounds. The pigeon shooting scenes are where the two rivals size each other up and subtly challenge each other and attempt to display dominance.
The Favourite is a hilarious tale of manipulation that also adds the perfect amount of levity. The film is the latest high- quality offering from director Yorgos Lanthimos that utilizes outlandish, over-the-top storytelling to explore deeper themes, in this case sex, love, and power. Lanthimos has had a prolific run with The Favourite being his third feature in four years, all featuring the fresh, innovative writing we’ve come to expect from him (Lanthimos has written his last six films as well). The film is also a technical marvel, featuring great camera work and cinematography. The Favourite has numerous fish-eye lens shots that help to differentiate the film visually, in addition to the best establishing shots seen in a film since 2017’s Columbus. The film also deserves awards consideration for its high quality sound editing. The three main actresses all put on great performances with Olivia Colman and Emma Stone standing out the most. The Favourite is well paced and exceedingly entertaining, making its audience both laugh and anticipate the outcome of the plot’s joust for influence.
Image: Fox Searchlight
