MA
15+, 1 hour 59 mins
Dendy
Canberra Centre, Palace Electric New Acton
4.5
Stars
Review
by © Jane Freebury
A power
struggle at the top. Deadly serious for those involved but for observers from
afar, it’s a spectacle that can have all the makings of comedy.
So it is
with The Favourite, where two women vie for favour at the court of Queen
Anne in England three centuries ago. In the hands of Greek director Yorgos
Lanthimos, a rollicking and irreverent take on the historical drama, that veers
deliciously towards the absurd. It’s a load of outrageous fun, and one of the
best satires of the ruling class since Peter O’Toole had the House of Lords in
his sights.
Lanthimos, a
director with a gift for the cryptic, makes distinctive dramas that offer a
variety of meaning. More’s the fun of it.
His film
from 2009, Dogtooth, was a sinister take on family in Greek society, while
his first English language film, Lobster, took aim at the tyranny of
social conformity, among other things. Not that successfully, in my view.
Lanthimos
often writes as well as directs, when he isn’t working on plays, music videos
or the television commercials that probably help him keep his touch light.
 |
| Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) |
Although he
didn’t write the screenplay this time, Lanthimos is at one with the spirit his
writers, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, bring to it. They have turned the
carefully curated British period drama on its head with this jaunty, juicy
farce. The historical authenticity of locations and costumes for the period is
impressive. As if the tall wigs and rouged courtiers weren’t preposterous
enough, Lanthimos and his DOP play with camera angles and fish eye lens to even
more bizarre effect.
The ailing
and isolated queen, Anne, played brilliantly by Olivia Colman, despairs that
she has not been able to perpetuate the Stuart line with an heir. The 17 pet
rabbits she keeps in cages in her bedchamber bring some consolation for the
multiple still births, miscarriages and young lives lost.
Her close
confidante is the Duchess of Marlborough, Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), whose
husband is often away keeping the neighbours under control. On this occasion he
is fighting the French, and Sarah is pressing for the campaign to get better
funding. A prominent Tory, the Earl of Oxford (Nicholas Hoult) is opposed to
increasing tax to make this happen, and doing his best to undo the campaign of
persuasion that the duchess conducts in the queen’s private quarters, and in
her bed.
The upstart
Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), stumbles into this fevered mix. As a relative of
Sarah’s, she had hopes for some favours but she is swiftly relegated to the
scullery. Unfortunately for Sarah, cousin Abigail makes a saucy wench when she
gets half a chance. It is a fatal mistake. The Queen appoints Abigail to keeper
of the privy purse and takes her to her bed.
This may or
may not be true, but as a study in the struggle for power and influence it is
witty and entertaining. Although it’s the men like the Earl who hold power in
parliament and at court, it’s the women who explore the ways and means to exert
influence. In terms of gender roles, not so flattering, but it could just as
easily be told the other way round because it would be difficult to contest the
underlying truth. A witty expose on the lot of us.
Jane's
reviews are also published at her blog, the Film Critics
Circle of Australia, and broadcast on ArtSound FM 92.7
