The Favourite (2018) Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
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The only previous film I had watched from director Yorgos Lanthimos was his 2016 film 'The Lobster', which I found both bizarre and brilliant. I am keenly aware of the popularity of his other films, such as 2017's 'The Killing Of A Sacred Deer' and 2023's 'Poor Things'. As such, I was very eager to watch this 2018 comedy.
The use of sound was exquisite, particularly in the use of music in the absence of diagetic sound. Lanthimos has a particular talent for this it seems. The classical soundtrack for the film is exquisite and so befitting.
The narrative is clever and wonderfully paced. For a film with next to no explicit action, there was not a single moment where I grew impatient or bored of the dialogue. The delivery of dialogue, which was well written in itself, was of a very high quality from all involved, which only helped in making everything so much more intriguing.
The story was framed so beautifully amongst the backdrop of its pre-Georgian English setting. The costume design, though I cannot comment on the accuracy per-say, was stunning. I could not have been happier with the visuals of the film. I even enjoyed the slightly perplexing use of the fisheye lense on a handful of shots.
Olivia Colman has always been, in my opinion, a great actress. However, I don't think she has ever had a better character to exhibit that ability than in this historical comedy. She was so dramatic - I adored watching her. I was so happy to see her get her flowers, especially for a performance such as this.
The more I see of Emma Stone, the more impressed I am by her acting ability. She was impressively cunning, and used her facial expressions and body language extremely effectively to say far more than dialogue ever could. I was very much enthralled by her character work - if not for the brilliance of Colman, she would've stolen the film entirely.
This was, from what I have seen, the best performance of Rachel Weisz. She had a presence to her that I have not seen in her acting before - it was exquisite. In addition, her subtle facial expressions, particularly during her scenes with Stone, were, quite frankly, magnificent.
Nicholas Hoult has, in recent years, shone in a number of his supporting roles, particularly when comedy is involved. I found him to be delightfully entertaining once more in this performance. He had an ease to his performance which came off as wonderfully charismatic, smarmy even, though I mean that as the highest of compliments.
Further impressive performances, though certainly less of note than the four excellent ones above, came from the talented trio of Joe Alwyn, Mark Gatiss and James Smith in their respective supporting roles.
Overall, this is quite easily one of the best films I've seen this year. It is deliciously funny, well paced and masterfully acted by all involved. The three leading ladies in particular were exemplary. Furthermore, this only reaffirms that I should endeavour to watch more Yorgos Lanthimos films in the near future.
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