2018
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
One of my favorite days I spent in England (and that's coming from a very long list) was when my brother and I visited Hampton Court Palace. On the train ride there we got Bakewell tarts. Come to think of it, that might be the main reason it was my favorite memory. Why don't we have them here in the U.S.? It's a well-documented fact that we love cramming our bodies with butter and sugar. Anyway, here is a picture of the two of us from that day, proving our good looks are, indeed, genetic:
Now back to The Favourite!
In 1704 England, Queen Anne is in very poor health and relies on her Favourite Sarah Churchill for counsel and sexy times. Sarah's cousin, Abigail, arrives at the palace looking for employment, and Sarah lets her be scullery maid. Abigail, however, plots to rise in the ranks, as she is being courted (sort of?) by Mr. Taylor Swift (otherwise known as Joe Alwyn).
There is a very large market for sexy royal court dramas, both in television and film, but also in literature. It's really been my thing, I feel like the story always hits the same beats, and a large amount of the enjoyment comes from seeing the hot people naked.
That being said, I really enjoyed this. I liked the style and the black humor of it. I never felt like the director was taking it too far to "put his stamp on things" at the expense of the story or general mood. It was silly in places (there hasn't been such an odd dance scene since Romy and Michelle) but took itself seriously when it needed to do so. Some of the lines of this movie really reverberated with me; whether that is because of the words or the actors' deliveries, I'm not sure.
So another great movie and, once again, Emma Stone is delightful.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
There was a dedicated trailer for wigs.
Film passes the "Reverse-Bechdel" test by one line.
I tried to watch this on a plane, but had to give up. This is entirely dialogue driven and I could not hear a thing. I really should try again in a quiet environment. Thanks for recommending it.
ReplyDeleteBakewell tart!
ReplyDeleteWas it with the icing on top?
Icing on the top of a Bakewell??
ReplyDeleteNo, no, no..
Although I will admit iced Bakewells are rather nice.. Bakewell tarts they are not.
Sorry, sad git pedant writing, who comes from just a few miles from Bakewell...
That's interesting, I always wondered about that. I lived so far from Bakewell that it never occurred to me before now that it even was a place. To me, Bakewell tarts were those Mr Kipling things which were great (in my ignorant opinion). I never understood why other places sold them without the icing.
DeleteI just made a gluten Bakewell tart for my sister (with an indecent amount of icing of course). I expect an offer to become a British citizen any day now.
DeleteSorry.. we were supposed to talk about the film....
ReplyDeleteWe showed this to our rather (small c) conservative audience at our local arts centre. They love costume drama, and things with kings and queens in them, and anything with Judy Dench or Maggie Smith, so they flocked to see this..
Only a few of us had seen 'The Lobster' a few years before, and knew what to expect.
I loved 'Lobster', and quite enjoyed this...
That is a lovely photo of you and your brother; however, you look completely different than other photos I've seen of you!🤣
ReplyDelete