I’m having one of those ‘everyone likes it except me’ moments you guys.
The Favourite is a comedy… or maybe it’s a dramatic comedy… or maybe it’s a dramady… or maybe it’s a comedy that’s a bit dramatic or a drama that’s quite comedic. WHY MUST WE LABEL EVERYTHING ETC ETC?!
Set in the early 1700s, the wonderful Olivia Colman is Queen Anne who is in the midst of strategising a war with France and bearing the pain caused by gout. Now, if this sounds like a boring bonnet drama, it really isn’t so do keep reading if they’re not your thing.
Rachel Weisz is also excellent as Lady Marlborough, the Queen’s confidant/assistant/advisor/something else I won’t spoil and Emma Stone is equally good as Lady Marlborough’s down and out cousin Abigail. Truly, the three women leads in this film are all incredibly skilled as they master both the dramatic and comedic turns of the film.
However for me this film is really compromised by its length. It goes for two hours and I looked at my watch at the 50 minute mark and thought, hoooo boy, we’re not even half way there. Not a good sign. The story is clever and funny but for me, The Favourite needed to be 30 minutes shorter to really be excellent.
I’m not going to tell you more about the storyline because there’s twists and turns I certainly didn’t predict and I think they’re part of the joy but there’s a hint in the name - who will be the Queen’s favourite?!
In the interests of fairness (remember how I said everyone liked it except me?!) here’s a five star review from news.com.au. (Contains numerous spoilers.) Needless to say I think it’s too generous - this is a three star film for me. I noted the length as an issue in a conversation on Twitter with a couple of people and one of them said “I really loved the first hour but it got long and sad in a dull way” which I think nails the issue.
There’s also, strangely, a fisheye lens used sometimes which created an unnecessary distraction, and also in some scenes people are filmed from below which I also didn’t dig. OK I will stop now.
The Favourite is in cinemas now, rated MA15+. Trailer here.