‘THE FAVOURITE’
R 1:59 ★★★ ½☆
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ (“The Lobster”) outlandish surrealism finds a home in the fictionalized court of Queen Anne with “The Favourite,” a deliciously tawdry black comedy and surprisingly affecting period drama.
An Academy Awards front-runner, this is not your typical stuffy Oscar-bait historical drama. Instead, “The Favourite” is an unapologetically profane and wildly compelling tale of royal power plays fueled by three virtuoso women portraying refreshingly complex women.
In 18th-century England, the mercurial Anne (Olivia Colman), beset by chronic health problems as well as grief over the loss of 17 children, is queen, but she doesn’t really rule. The country is run by the hard-nosed Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), Anne’s longtime friend and secret lover, who engaged in warfare with France.
The balance of power shifts when Sarah’s impoverished cousin Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives at the palace. Sarah initially makes her a scullery maid, but when the Abigail sneaks into the queen’s chambers to minister to the royal’s painful sores, she earns favor with Anne and Sarah.
As her foppish political opponent, Harley (Nicholas Hoult), ratchets up pressure to end the war, Sarah turns her attention to affairs of state, leaving Abigail and Anne to forge a friendship that leads to a rivalry to be the queen’s “Favourite.”
The screenplay by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara boldly blends fact, fiction and anachronism. Lanthimos outfits his costume drama in f-bombs, love triangles and duck races, but thanks to the bravura trio of actresses, “The Favourite” offers underneath a simple and effective tale of jealousy, survival and power.