The Favourite is not Academy Award material in any way, shape or form. I suspected this after watching the trailer, but then I thought I’d give it a try. How wrong can the Academy be? Plenty wrong.
It is a period piece in the time of Queen Anne of England. Several of the characters were indeed real people in her court, but they were given very different lives in this film. The Favourite is basically about very spoiled rich people doing nothing at all noble or worthwhile in their lives. Too much money and free time make for some very selfish, self-centered people.
Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman) finds herself in a triangle with two of her subjects, Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail (Emma Stone). Sarah and Abigail are cousins, and Sarah gives down and out on her luck Abigail a job in the court. They soon are at each other’s throats, Abigail wanting to insert her way into a secure “good” life at the castle.
The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress Olivia Coleman, Best Supporting Actress for both Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, Best Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, and Film Editing. Did they just want to nominate a British film to round things out at the Awards? There is really nothing of redeeming value in this film, although individual people may have done a good job with what they were asked to do.
Did you see The Favourite? What did you think of the film?
I wanted to see this film and we were too late to see it so we saw another film, The Upside. I heard that Olivia Coleman is excellent in her role as the Queen but, funny, just tonight I went out to dinner with a friend and he mentioned that he and his wife saw this film and were disappointed. He mentioned the film really had no plot, had a bunch of spoiled brats backstabbing which sounded like a reality show.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way to describe it: like a scripted reality show!
DeleteHi Suzanne - it is a very interesting film ... and Olivia's acting is brilliant. It does follow the extended story of their lives - with an extended 21st take ... I did enjoy it, but it needs an open mind. It nods to history in quite a big way ... so it's there for good viewing. Obviously it gets my vote - though know others who struggled with it - it's probably more for viewers from our side of the pond. Give it a go - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI just spoke to a good friend of mine today who went to see it with her husband. They both liked it! Interestingly, he is British. Maybe someday I'll give it another view.
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