THE FAVOURITE (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018)

This film is the first of four that director Yorgos Lanthimos has made in collaboration with actress Emma Stone. I’ve seen the other three and, like them, this is a deeply satirical story filled with dark humor and (smaller) bursts of violence, all of it brought to life by a punchy script and a well-chosen cast. It is also noticeably less surreal and with more of a historical flavor, likely due to it being written by someone other than the director and his long-time co-writer Efthimis Filippou. The atmosphere is lighter, more refreshing than oppressive, but still bristling with that Lanthimos weirdness and intensity I’ve come to look forward to.

Technically, The Favourite is chef’s kiss precise. All four principals (Ms. Stone, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Nicholas Hoult) deliver great performances as the Queen and those jockeying to be closest to her, all of them flexing their privilege and entitlent, all of them constantly scheming and endlessly ambitious members of the royal court. The film moves quickly through the various machinations and skullduggeries while looking gorgeous at every level including the cinematography, costumes, and sets (that blue!). Like Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, which this film resembles in other ways, much of the lighting is natural.

Recommended to fans of the cast or Lanthimos, or anyone who might appreciate a leaner, meaner and less bombastic episode of Masterpiece Theater.