The Favourite is loosely based on the true story of Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman), who ascended to the throne at the turn of the eighteenth century. The story takes place sometimes around 1706 or 1707 with the ascension of Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) as Lady Sarah Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) falls out of favor. Abigail and Sarah were cousins. Abigail arrives at the palace after her father has squandered their wealth and Abigail has "fallen far." Sarah is a brutal task master who runs the country through her strong alliance with Queen Anne. Abigail slowly rises to power through charm and deception, convincing the Queen to restore her status by allowing her to marry Lord Masham (Joe Alwyn). The scheming and political upheaval of the day remind me of the saying "the more things change, the more they stay the same."
Every year, around this time, we begin seeing the release of films designed for the Oscars. I think they are released late in the year so they are fresh in voters' minds when it comes time to vote. But released in time to manage the requisite two weeks in theaters. The Favourite is clearly one of those films. Voters seem to love period pieces. Strong female leads are in vogue these days as well. So this film was clearly an attempt to win some hardware. Throw in a stellar cast, and you have the makings of an award-oriented film. This film will be nominated in a couple of categories I would imagine. It deserves the nominations, although I don't know that it has the chops to win. At least not in the best motion picture category. It might win costumes or make up. The story has incredible dialogue that is the strong point of this film. The dialogue is pithy and often humorous. I chuckled quite a bit. It was nice that this film had intrigue with a nice dose of comedy. It also felt slightly tedious at times and had a less-than-rewarding ending. While based in reality, I would have liked a tighter ending.
The three leads in this film have all won major awards. Weisz and Stone both have Oscars. Weisz for The Constant Gardener in 2006 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Stone won more recently for La La Land in 2017. Colman has a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for The Night Manager in 2016. The cast is filled with several other familiar faces, to include one of my own favorites, Nicholas Hoult. A strong cast will certainly help this film with the awards shows, although it might be difficult deciding who to nominate for what. I guess that is a good problem to have. The intrigue between the three female leads was fun to watch. I really liked Emma Stone best in this film. I know she won two years ago, and I doubt she will win again for this role. But she best deserves a nomination from this cast. I suspect it might be Colman that gets a nomination. Great casting.
The Favourite earned a well deserved R rating from the MPAA. The subject matter included quite a bit of sexuality to include several suggested sex acts. The sex acts had a detached quality that helped develop one of the main characters, making it contextual. The film also has nudity and strong language throughout. This film has adult themes that are not intended for younger viewers. The subject matter would also likely bore younger viewers. The film has quite a bit of nuance. I would suggest teen viewers or older as a starting point. This film is just shy of two hours, with a one hour, fifty-nine minute run time.
IMDb currently has this film at 8.3. My wife gave it an 8. I am not quite that high. I think the IMDb rating may come down to earth in a couple of days as more viewers watch and rate it. The early ratings are coming from folks who have anticipated its release. I am among that crowd, but was left wanting a bit more. I really wanted a better ending. The story is interesting, visually appealing, funny and includes an awesome cast. The dialogue was witty, sharp and fresh. This film had many of the qualities I look for in a film. But I like a complete story. I felt that this story was a bit incomplete. I am not going to hit the film too hard for the ending, because I enjoyed everything else. 7.5.
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