12/27/18 - The Favourite (2018) 7+/10

A wicked delight with a distinctly downtrodden and bitter aftertaste. His meals always taste different than anyone else’s, which brings such a verve and excitement even if you don’t get it or sink into its sour depths. How could one not eat it up?

All three actresses were magnificent. Colman delivering a layered and ultimately tragic portrayal. An internal battle with a constant subjugation to internal disgust. Weisz is obviously powerful but there is tenderness and a razor wit. Quite similar to Beckinsale’s turn in 2016’s Love & Friendship, but with vicious barbs that do not play. Despite her danger, the love that she pours through her eyes is touching. And Stone is a driven whirlwind, continuously hitting every note on the scale with style, a sense of uncertainty and a rising poisonous power. Her arc is the most obvious but her brilliant performance lets the drama play out upon her delicately exquisite canvas.

Lanthimos gives us our most felt and human version of his films yet. But he is able to isolate and estrange us from the action by giving to us a costume drama about these strange wealthy snipes in an uncanny way. He continuously positioned the camera at a low angle, a long/wide vantage or a fish-eye lens, usually to consume our vision in the scale of their decadence, the engulfing darkness of the era, or the quirky idiosyncrasies of the players. Each of these techniques place the action and the world “away” from us, making it all just that bit of odd. Of course there must be something peculiar about Lanthimos’ interpretation of the human condition.

Perhaps not the most revelatory, experimental, or formatively nuanced, The Favourite is my favorite of his. It is such a devilishly good time, even when it is nasty and cruel. Not a gut buster or a poppy sugary experience, but a finely constructed, gorgeously pampered, and supremely performed dramedy of the highest degree/uniqueness. The interplay of sexuality, power dynamics, and class splashed across the audience face might leave some bewildered, but I found it quenching and fun.

Aside: The ending lapin cacophony of symbology and bizarrity was the perfect amount of “What?” and “Ahhh. I see.” (even if I didn’t) for an end to his film. He does have a thing for animals, cruelty to them, and their symbology.