The Favourite
13/01/19 Filed in: Cinema
This film is a very edgy comedy, with some language that may shock, and an underlying sexual theme that may surprise anyone expecting a run-of-the-mill period drama. The afternoon audience at our local Cineworld comprised mainly older people and it's my guess that quite a few left the cinema having seen a different film to what they expected. Two women actually left part way through.
Olivia Coleman plays Queen Anne, brilliantly, having already received award recognition and probably heading for more. Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone play Lady Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Abigail Masham (née Hill), a 'lady' who has fallen on hard times. Both of these supporting roles are equally deserving of recognition. Abigail is Sarah's cousin and was hoping that she could be found a position in at court, not expecting to be consigned to the bottom of the pecking order in the kitchen, where she is badly treated by the other servants.
But an opportunity presents itself when she is asked to help dress Queen Anne's badly infected leg. Having acquired some herbal knowledge she prepares an ointment for the Queen, and cons her way into the bed chambre. But she is surprised by Sarah's arrival, who is less than impressed, and sends her off to be thrashed. After two or three strokes across her bare back, she is saved from further beating when Sarah enters and takes her back to the Queen, whose pain has been relieved by Abigail's treatment.
And so begins Abigail's slow but sure infiltration into the Queen's close retinue, which does not please Sarah who up to this point has been the unchallenged favourite. All sweetness and light, all caring and animal loving, Abigail becomes very close to the Queen and the 17 rabbits that reside in her chambre, one for each of the children she lost. But Sarah's closeness to the Queen is far more than just a friendship, a fact witnessed by Abigail when, unseen, she observes something far more intimate. Although shocked, this spurs her into competing with Sarah for the Queen's bed, a competition she wins.
This sets up a mutual antagonism and Abigail must act to secure her position. She conspires with Robert Harley, an MP who is eager to stop Lord Marlborough securing additional funds, through taxes, to continue the war with France. Samual Masham, a baron in Queen Anne's court, is a friend of Harley, and has the hots for Abigail. By 'arranging' to get Sarah out of the way for a while, and using Harley's influence, Abigail gains the Queen's permission to marry Masham, thus cementing her place at court and protecting her from Sarah's vindictiveness. When Abigail is later promoted to Keeper of the Privy Purse, and makes accusations of misappropriation against the Duke of Marlborough, things decidedly take a turn for the worse for the Marlboroughs.
But has Abigail overplayed her hand, and can Sarah talk her way back into the Queen's favour. Or will Anne see them both for what they are?
This film is not going to be everybody's choice, but the superb acting, stupendous costumes and a real-world setting adds up to something special. There is the interesting use of ultra wide-angle lenses to capture the whole interior of what are relatively small rooms. This gives rise to some barrel distortion causing curvature at the edges of the screen, which most photographers seek to avoid, but in this case is used to good effect. And the soundtrack is also unusual, period violin music being occasionally interrupted by coarse interludes that sound like larger stringed instruments being rhythmically assaulted by the bows of the musicians.
And so begins Abigail's slow but sure infiltration into the Queen's close retinue, which does not please Sarah who up to this point has been the unchallenged favourite. All sweetness and light, all caring and animal loving, Abigail becomes very close to the Queen and the 17 rabbits that reside in her chambre, one for each of the children she lost. But Sarah's closeness to the Queen is far more than just a friendship, a fact witnessed by Abigail when, unseen, she observes something far more intimate. Although shocked, this spurs her into competing with Sarah for the Queen's bed, a competition she wins.
This sets up a mutual antagonism and Abigail must act to secure her position. She conspires with Robert Harley, an MP who is eager to stop Lord Marlborough securing additional funds, through taxes, to continue the war with France. Samual Masham, a baron in Queen Anne's court, is a friend of Harley, and has the hots for Abigail. By 'arranging' to get Sarah out of the way for a while, and using Harley's influence, Abigail gains the Queen's permission to marry Masham, thus cementing her place at court and protecting her from Sarah's vindictiveness. When Abigail is later promoted to Keeper of the Privy Purse, and makes accusations of misappropriation against the Duke of Marlborough, things decidedly take a turn for the worse for the Marlboroughs.
But has Abigail overplayed her hand, and can Sarah talk her way back into the Queen's favour. Or will Anne see them both for what they are?
This film is not going to be everybody's choice, but the superb acting, stupendous costumes and a real-world setting adds up to something special. There is the interesting use of ultra wide-angle lenses to capture the whole interior of what are relatively small rooms. This gives rise to some barrel distortion causing curvature at the edges of the screen, which most photographers seek to avoid, but in this case is used to good effect. And the soundtrack is also unusual, period violin music being occasionally interrupted by coarse interludes that sound like larger stringed instruments being rhythmically assaulted by the bows of the musicians.