6/10 Yorgos Lanthimos is a director whose work I always greatly look forward to. Although his films are always graphic and very adult in nature, they are some of the most original films you will ever see, for better or for worse. His Greek films are not mainstream but showed that he was a true talent. His transition to English language films have made him more popular and his films more accessible but to mixed results. I enjoyed his last two films but “The Favourite” is the weakest of the three English language films he has made, despite getting the most critical praise. The plot is rather underwhelming and the film overall is less memorable than Lanthimos’ other works. That’s not to say there are not things that I really admired about this film. The acting is first rate and all three women whom lead the film deserve their Academy Award nominations. They all dedicate themselves to their difficult roles with flying colors. The production design and more specifically, costume design are fantastic and also deserve some love from the Academy. The score is easily in the top five best of the year and I find underrated since most seem to prefer talking about the film’s cinematography. The cinematography (and editing) are fine but don’t stand out in the way that other elements of the production do. The film actually starts of strong in terms of story and tension. The friendship turning into a rivalry turning into pure hatred that comes from Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone is very interesting to watch and keeps the film afloat. However, once these two characters are separated, the film starts to fall apart and we as the audience lose interest. These two women’s chemistry together is not shared individually with the Queen so when they aren’t together and one is with the Queen, the level of interest and entertainment greatly diminishes. The ending is less ambiguous than his last film but the film overall definitely leaves you wanting more. Despite some tremendous acting and amazing technical aspects, Lanthimos gives us maybe his first forgettable film with an average story. Here’s to hoping he goes back to his weird, Greek roots for his next film.
#AnneOfMeanGaybles / #TheLouseBunny / #WaryQueen / #LayTheFavorite2 / #DuckDuckAbuse / #HorseAndMiscarriage
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