The gloves are off! A costumer drama unlike any other, that tied Roma with ten Oscar nominations. Backbiting, scabrous gossip, and palace intrigue flourish in early 18th century England, at war with France. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah Churchill governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail Masham arrives, Sarah is preoccupied with the politics of war, Abigail displaces her as the Queen’s companion. She will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way. Olivia Colman won a Globe for her performance as Queen Anne. Also with Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos who gave us The Lobster.
“The Favourite, [is] a wildly entertaining, bracingly cynical comedy of royal manners… “[It] is a farce with teeth, a costume drama with sharp political instincts and an aggressive sense of the absurd.” — A.O. Scott, New York Times
“A fantastic little cupcake of a movie laced with thistle frosting.” — Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine
“Olivia Colman is simply dazzling as a fragile, volatile and sometimes dotty Queen Anne in The Favourite, a zestful period piece…” — Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Yorgos Lanthimos
Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz
Element Pictures, Scarlet Films, Film4, Waypoint Entertainment