The favourite doesn’t always win.

Giorgos Lanthimos’ 18th century period drama, The Favourite was for many, myself included, the movie most likely to pick up Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards. Instead the big gong went to Green Book. (A very good, but not exceptional, film, in my opinion). There was some compensation with Olivia Coleman winning a most deserved Best Actress for her powerful and nuanced performance as the fragile monarch, Queen Ann. What really appealed to me about The Favourite was the way it turned some of the stylistic conventions of the period drama on their heads. Interesting use of fish-eye lenses, slow-motion film techniques as well as a racy script that felt determinedly 21stCentury. The liberal use of the c*** word seemed altogether shocking amidst the powdered wigs and lace finery.

In the opening scene the director quickly establishes the relationship between Queen Ann and her court favourite, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz). The fact they have a secret connecting passage between their rooms is a quick clue that their arrangement is a unique one. Also established quite efficiently is that Queen Ann does not actually have any meaningful grasp of her nation’s state of affairs. The Queen gifts Lady Sarah a palace to reward her husband’s part in winning the war – here is the dialogue that ensues:

Lady Sarah: ‘It’s a monstrous extravagance, Mrs Morley (a pet name). We are at war.’

Queen Ann: ‘We won.’

Lady Sarah: ‘Oh, it is not over. We must continue.’

Queen Ann: ‘Oh? I did not know that.’

Another very delicate touch I noticed in watching the opening was the moment the crown is lifted from Queen Ann’s head. Olivia Coleman, in a supremely delicate and telling piece of acting that foretells that we are about to witness an extraordinary performance, made a slight and very subtle roll of her neck. Enough for us to know that she does not bear the burden of the crown with any comfort. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.*

*King Henry the Fourth. William Shakespeare.