The Favourite (2018)★ 7.6/10

The Queen’s loneliness stems from her dependence on Sarah, who, despite her love for the Queen, also manipulates and controls her. When the Queen tries to assert her dignity, she lacks the strength to do so without Sarah, leaving her unable to govern herself or her nation. The Queen’s love is pure, but such purity prevents her from exposing her entire self.

The costume and set design in "The Favourite" are truly exceptional. The luxurious and madcap film style brilliantly evokes the unique atmosphere of the era. The love triangle where long-time friends are overshadowed by a sudden infatuation with a stranger is particularly frustrating.

The dance scene is the epitome of comedy. Lanthimos has a strangely relateable bizarre mind

Following Roma, The Favourite emerges as another must-see masterpiece from the 91st's Oscars, distinguished by its almost exclusive use of natural and ambient lighting. The film's eccentric style, playful narrative techniques, innovations in audio-visual language, and soundtracks are captivating, enriching the viewing experience with intrigue and enjoyment.

Yorgos Lanthimos’latest film The Poor Thing received great acclaim at the Venice Film Festival. Unfortunately, I am far away from Venice and cannot watch it. Instead, I watched his past production called The Favourite from home. Fortunately, it is both interesting and thought-provoking for me.

Lanthimos demonstrated his advanced cinematography techniques in this film. However, in this short review, I only intend to touch upon my thoughts on it.
What I find interesting about the film is its use of natural lighting. The story is about the British royal family in the early 18th century, which is over 300 years ago. To some extent, the life of the royal family, especially that of Queen Anne, represents the highest quality of life of that time. It makes me wonder what life was like back then. Compared to artificial lighting, the unedited cinematography used in this film brings me closer to reality. While Queen Anne's clothing and accessories are indeed exquisite, it must have been an indescribably awful experience being tormented by illness in a dark and humid room.

Seated in front of my computer in my air-conditioned office on a rainy day feeling cool and dry while sipping my delicious coffee, and writing film reviews on a comfortable ergonomic chair, I am reminded of how far we have come. I not only learn to appreciate the power of technology, but also realize that my current quality of life as an ordinary person surpasses that of the Queen 300 years ago.
The portrayal of human evil in the film prompts me to reflect deeply. There are barely any conventionally defined kind souls in movies; everyone is pursuing their own goals by various means. For example, Abigail Masham (played by Emma Stone) strives to climb up the social ladder, while Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (played by Rachel Weisz), leverages her relationship with Queen Anne to gain significant political power. Queen Anne (played by Olivia Colman) is entirely self-centered and disregards her social responsibility. Other characters in the film also harbor their own dark thoughts. These evil human qualities, including the desire to climb up the social hierarchy, thirst for power, and jealousy, have persisted for millennia and will most probably prevail in the future.

It is difficult for a movie to be both sophisticated and popular, but The Favourite is one of the few movies that can achieve this goal.

It is a visual spectacle. Yorgos Lanthimos brings out his best and puts his stamp on this story about a polyamorous trio that includes the Queen of England, her right hand and a maid. The imprint of the director overflows the film, the camera turns, the fish eye, the close-ups, the striking colors, the pertinent and excellent soundtrack play in favor of the audiovisual pleasure of this new work by Lanthimos. Also, the performances are dazzling, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Olivia Colman show off and give it their all, demonstrating an acting passion that is appreciated. However, as Lanthimos is used to, the ending, although good, does not live up to the sublimity of the plot, it elevates, elevates, but does not deliver the expected coup de grace. Despite this, it is a film of excellence, and deserving of all the nominations and awards it has achieved.

La teatralidad de este juego monarquico. Una pasión desenfrenada por ganar, por ser más, a pesar de estar siempre sometida a algo que no se puede conseguir.

Depois de Roma, A Favorita surge como outra obra-prima imperdível da 91ª edição do Oscar, que se destaca pelo uso quase exclusivo de iluminação natural e do ambiente. O estilo excêntrico do filme, as técnicas narrativas lúdicas, as inovações na linguagem audiovisual e a trilhas sonora são cativantes, enriquecendo a experiência de assistir com intriga e prazer.

Luego de Roma, La favorita es otra obra maestra imperdible de la 91.ª edición de los Óscar, distinguida por su uso casi exclusivo de luz natural y ambiental. El estilo excéntrico, las técnicas narrativas juguetonas, las innovaciones en el lenguaje audiovisual y la banda sonora de la película son cautivantes y enriquecen la experiencia visual con intriga y disfrute.

El vestuario y la escenografía de La Favorita son excepcionales. El estilo lujoso y excéntrico de la película evoca brillantemente la atmósfera única de la época.

La soledad de la reina surge de su dependencia de Sarah, quien, a pesar de su amor por la reina, también la manipula y controla. Cuando la reina intenta afirmar su dignidad, se siente impotente sin Sarah, lo que la deja incapaz de gobernarse a sí misma o a su nación. El amor de la reina es puro, pero esa pureza le impide exponerse por completo.

O figurino e a cenografia de “A Favorita” são excepcionais. O estilo luxuoso e excêntrico do filme evoca de forma brilhante a atmosfera única da época.