Film Review: The Favourite Asks Can Power Be Loved
SYNOPSIS: Early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail Masham (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen’s companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way.
Imagine being the most powerful person on earth or, at least, in your nation? How genuinely can people love you? This question circled my mind as I watched Olivia Colman’s riveting performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite. Here was this woman that could banish someone from their country if she felt they were not being a good friend, and, because of that power, those that “loved” her did not know how to handle her.
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite is based on a true story. When Queen Anne traded her friendship with Lady Sarah for one with Abigail Masham, the transition was not a smooth one. Not only did Abigail and Sarah try to destroy each other, but the future of a nation, and its current war, was riding on which one of these ladies gained the Queen’s favor. Again, imagine being able to cause or stop a war based on whether your friend’s rabbits like you? This may seem ridiculous, but when your life is of complete privilege and power, the ridiculous is your norm.
Colman as Queen Anne is hypnotizing because she is both childlike and childish. Frankly, you feel nervous that England is in her hands with her inability to emotionally embrace a situation without combusting with passion. Lanthimos does well to incorporate scenes that show Anne’s troubles lie with her capacity to have every thing she wants but not every heart she desires. With 17 miscarriages, constant illness, and a cloud of loneliness shrouding over her, you feel bad for Queen Anne, and wonder if anyone has ever truly loved or like without trying to get “something.” She desperately wants to love and be loving, which explains her obsession with her rabbits. At least, they do not want to rule a kingdom by ruling over her.
Rachel Weisz as Sarah Churchill and Emma Stone as Abigail Masham are deliciously devious. They are like having a sweet, birthday cake with razors used as frosting. Their ability to make undercutting plots seem like a delightful past-time makes The Favourite feel like a mid-18th century Mean Girls. You want to grab the popcorn and soda to watch these women, literally, try to kill each other because they know, without Queen’s favor, they are nothing. Stone’s Abigail is a peasant, whose family name has been disgraced. If Queen Anne stops liking her she will tossed unto the streets. Meanwhile, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, has been running the British kingdom by meaning everything to Anne: from maternal to sexual. The Queen knows these women need her, which is why she manipulates them for attention, but she cannot make them love her for real.
Of course, for most of us, we can handle multiple friendships at once, and they do not challenge what each friend means to us. Yet, The Favourite thrives as an analysis of “privileged” bonds. When so much is at stake, like war, you do not want your friend/ Queen listening to just anyone. After all, those hat comes around Anne come with the purpose to influence her policies upon the people. Nicholas Hoult as Harley, James Smith as Godolphin, Joe Alwyn as Baron Masham are just a few examples of the men trying to manipulate the queen by also maneuvering through Abigail and Sarah. Each give a stellar, even malicious performance that assures everyone is aware of the hold these ladies have over the Queen. This only amplifies the struggle to not be disingenuous in their love for her.
It is not just that Queen Anne can devastate and derive their livelihood and its accomplishments, it is also that everyone around them wants a role in doing so. By the end of the film, only one, Abigail or Sarah .can win. While they do so much to hurt each other, they also show they are smart, witty, and more powerful than nearly everyone around them. Had it been a different world, perhaps, all three ladies could have walked into the sunset and been friends. Yet, that is not this film or the history. Instead, you watch gorgeous dresses, beautiful shots of landscapes, and indulgently excessive luxuries be tossed and tarnished by a literal battle royale for favoritism. The Favourite Comes Out November 23.
