Every day until the Oscars ceremony we’ll be highlighting a different category or movie here on the LAMB! Here’s a link to all the posts written so far .

Today, The Vern of That Moment In is here to look at the Best Picture Nominee – The Favourite.

Tnx Vern!

Best Picture Nominee – The Favourite

Three Reasons why Best Picture Nominee, The Favourite should be your favorite.  

The Favourite is a 2018 historical drama/comedy about a Queen whose assistant meets her match when another woman tries to take her place at her majesty’s side.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards.  The Favourite is different from other films by director Yargos Lanthimos.  It’s different because this one is set in the 18th century while all his others have been set in the 21st.  It is similar because it shares the same kind of dark absurd  humor that is found in his other features like The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Dogtooth, and the The Lobster.  However this tale is adjusted more to a general audience more than his previous efforts.  This is due to the fact that Lanthimos did not write the screenplay.  That task was assigned to Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara who are also nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars this year

During the war between Britain and France.  Queen Anne(Olivia Coleman) is in ill health, both physically and mentally.  Her adviser, her friend, and lover Lady Sarah(Rachel Wiesz) basically makes all the rules and passes them off as the Queen’s ideas.  A member of Parliament, Robert Harley(Nicholas Hoult) doesn’t like that the war to France is still going on and disapproves of the recent property tax hike.

In enters Abigail(Emma Stone), Sarah’s cousin who lost her title when her father lost at a card game.  She befriends Queen Anne by attending to a bad cause of the gout on her legs and the two start becoming closer friends.  Sarah sees this and tries to find ways to prevent this from getting any farther.  But do these women actually love Anne or are they trying to be the favorite for their own needs.

3 Reasons to watch The Favourite.

1.  The Acting is amazing.

It’s easy to see why this has gathered nominations in the acting category at this years Oscars.  Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are the definition of perfect on screen chemistry.  Even if their characters don’t get along .  Their back and forth banter with each other and off of other actors is an amazing feat.  What’s even more amazing is how subtle the changes of these characters happen.  At the start your rooting for one and at the end your sneering at another.  It’s brilliant.  Olivia Coleman is a treasure in this movie.  She has moments where your laughing at her, and others where you are literary crying for her.  It’s an amazing performance that I hope doesn’t go unnoticed at the Academy Awards.

2.  The Cinematography is beautiful

Shot by Robbie Ryan.  The look of royalty in early 18th century Britain has never looked better.  There is one sequence involving candles that reminded me of shots from Barry Lyndon(1975 winner for Best Cinematography), but improved on because Mr. Ryan is doing a sort of Steadicam style shot.  I know people have made mention of the wide fish eye lens in certain shots.  But it never bothered me.  It helped represent the odd and somewhat absurd world these characters go through.

3.  It is extremely funny.

From the first scene to when Lady Sarah tells Queen Anne that she looks like a badger to the moment  Abigail plays hard to get by a certain suitor by causing extreme pain to certain regions of his body.  There were many moments that I was laughing a lot at.  Some of the responses may make certain audiences uncomfortable, but hearing this kind of language come from these so called prim and proper characters made it that much more enjoyable for me.

There is a great moment that happens when Lady Sarah finds out that Queen Anne has been spending more time with Abigail than her.  Anne tells her that she enjoys her company because she doesn’t say things about her weight or that she looks like a badger.  Sarah responds that those responses are not love.  Love is built out of honesty not telling someone what they want to hear.  

When you first date someone, yeah you tell them things you think they will like to hear, but if you keep at that rate you will never find out who they really are.  Sarah may be honest about her approach about her love to Anne, but does she really love her or does she love the power that she gained, and with Abigail moving in fast.  Will she keep it or loose it.

The Favourite is not your average period dramas that you have seen before.  If you are expecting something like The Crown, this aint it.  It has a lot more biting humor than expected but it is extremely well done.   The Favourite is up for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and many more.

Tags: That Moment In, The Favourite