Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, Mark Gatiss, Emma Delves, Faye Daveney, Paul Swaine, Jennifer White, LillyRose Stevens, Denise Mark, Willem Dalby, Edward Aczel, James Smith, Carolyn Saint-Pe, John Locke, Nicholas Hoult.
Favouritism is not just about what makes you stand out in the public gaze, it is the result of who fancies you, who wants you intimately, regardless of whether they declare it openly or keep it buried deep in their subconscious, a concept that is frowned upon but none the less wrapped in truth. You get asked who The Favourite is, who you want to see come out on top, and for the most part that sentiment is born out of lust, not out of cold logic.
It is an impressive feat to ring together three female actors of such renown quality to the cinematic fore, to exemplify the undoubted talent they all possess and yet make each one pivotal to the story-line, like an interlocking triangle or fortress that is impregnable from outside interference or the cynicism that will come with unwarranted heated argument, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone fully express the manner of 18th Century courtship and use the idea of advancement to its fullest possible fulfilment.
To be considered a favourite is a double-edged sword to which those that seek higher office or progression often fail to realise comes with the possibility of dealing with an ego far greater than they can cope with, that to see ones shoes shine you must allow yourself to fall to the depths of depravity, of cleaning someone’s else mess up and putting up with the stink that infects the nostrils.
Where the production of the film is to be lauded is not only in the magnificence of the three main female actors, but in the bringing out of Nicholas Hoult as Harley and Mark Gatiss as Lord Marlborough as complex characters that are used as machines, as foils to the desires of the stronger and more ruthless gender.
Politics is a dangerous game, and if you aren’t willing to sell your soul to the highest bidder than all your planning is for naught, to frame this against the court life of Queen Anne, to openly suggest that what on behind closed doors is more than rumour and hearsay is to open the debate on how we see and react to how advancement worked in the days and nights of absolute monarchy, the ability to drip poison in the ear of the Queen whilst always smiling for the audience is a work of art.
The Favourite is easily to be considered an equal to another excellent film dealing with the private life of a monarch, 1994s The Madness of King George, the only difference being the way the production doesn’t hold back in alluding to the issues that reflect our own times.
A brilliant film, dazzling and complete, the type of film you wish you could have written.
Ian D. Hall