Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, A Favorita (2018), is full of palatial intrigue, power and a powerful female presence. The opulence and excesses of 18th-century royalty combine perfectly with the language of the 21st century. the past to tell the story to your liking.
Away from other period movies with a serious tone?Almost moldy ?, Lanthimos dares with a different film, satirical and not without anachronisms broken by the soundtrack with clavicorde to return us to the atmosphere of the palace.
- Abigail (Emma Stone).
- Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) form the central triangle on which the plot is based: three perfectly designed.
- Detailed and endearing characters.
- Embodied by three actresses who are not only up to the task.
- But they also shine in a particular way.
Queen Anne had a special friendship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. The Duchess became the queen’s right-hand man and acquired great political importance, but the queen and Sarah were much more than good friends, were lovers or, at least, were lovers. , they were in love until Sarah’s cousin, Abigail Masham, in a desperate attempt to restore her social position, took Sarah’s place.
From this story based on real events, Lanthimos builds A Favorita imagining what life in the palace would look like and the rivalry of these two cousins fighting for the queen’s heart or favors. We see a mockery of the old values, a spicy satire, who dares to speak openly and let the imagination fly.
The director of Dente Canino (2009) has already made it known that he likes to play with strangeness and even annoy the viewer, in A Favorita there are no captivating characters or characters to which we can become attached, there are passions, desires, lies and a lot of ambition .
The images are a strong narrative load in A Favorita, the fisheye partially distorts the spaces and, therefore, the reality, while allowing a broader view of these ostentatious and exaggerated rooms.
Costumes and makeup play another key role in visual terms, the contrasts between the clothes and the servants’ rooms with those of royalty serve to reaffirm inequalities and help us understand the motivations of their protagonists.
Abigail was a lady, but she lost everything. So he goes to the palace to ask his cousin Sarah for help, who will start very low and eventually approach Queen Anne.
Favorite says a lot about its aesthetic, everything works perfectly, the script and light games are supported, in turn, in a song that intensifies the moments of tension, accompanying at all times what we see on screen.
An aesthetic delight that, in a way, holds a deep resemblance to the mythical Stanley Kubrick and, above all, to films such as Barry Lyndon (Kubrick, 1975). Everything is measured in detail, from photography to makeup, all elements are a strong narrative medium.
The Favorite is not limited to the purely visual, as the characters are endowed with great depth and have interpretations that live up to their complexity.
In the midst of a plot of power and ambition that is built in the context of certain political conflicts, A Favorita also presents us with a comedy, a subtle but direct comedy that makes the satire of royalty and this excessive and frivolous image of the eighteenth century. Century.
Absolutely useless and boring monarchs whose only entertainment is to watch a duck race or throw fruit at a naked man. Men, unlike other period films, are relegated to the background and presented as rather useless beings living from appearances.
The fact is that the artifice of time is indisputable. Very ridiculous clothes and makeup and absolutely excessive decorations remind us, on several occasions, who rules in this place. Did palatial life attract artists of all kinds who compose works – music, painting or theatre?delighting royalty, leaving art confined to the palace. The favorite makes fun of everything and uses sarcasm to ridicule the monarchies.
The love triangle that gives life to the film also represents an arduous and vile struggle for power, a power that falls into the hands of women who do not conform to the role assigned to them, a story of morality and corruption in which Lanthimos builds and destroys the image we have of the characters. You don’t love anybody, but you don’t hate them either.
Queen Anne may seem like the embodiment of despotism, but over time we discover that she is mired in deep depression. Not even power and luxury could make Anne happy. We see a sick woman whose mental health is collapsing. She’s extremely childish and doesn’t have a shred of self-esteem.
Has tragedy often affected Anne’s life and we can somehow understand her attitude, even if it is of questionable morality.
Sarah presents herself as the absolute antagonist, the character to hate from the beginning, is selfish and lucrative, absolutely manipulative, but little by little we begin to feel sorry for her.
The opposite is true for the young Abigail who, after losing everything, knows the lowest level of the power scale. Sorry and want your plans to continue, we understand that your situation is unfair, until we discover the depth of your intentions. .
How far can human beings go to achieve their goals?doesn’t allow us to position ourselves. When we seem to like a character, we are presented with a less pleasant face of it. Because in the end, in a world of inequalities, everyone wants to be on top. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, all that seems to matter is power, control.
Does Lanthimos take his characters to the extreme, to unexpected limits?The viewer has all the keys, as he gets to know in detail the secrets of the palace, discovering all the hypocrisy that moves in his rooms.
The metaphors invade the stage, everything is perfectly measured and calculated, from rabbits to horses, all so that in the end, through a powerful scene, A Favorita reminds us that there will always be someone above us. In the world of power, there is no place for morality and there will always be someone to walk on.
As a war crosses borders, there is a real power struggle taking place between the walls of the palace, a war of passions and lies. La Favorita triumphed at the Venice Film Festival and, with 10 Oscar nominations, earned a spot among the great films of 2018.
Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone look magnificent in this competition for the Queen’s power and favors, without denigrating male performances. In short, an exhibition of ostentation, satire and manipulation that composes a film that captures us, ridicules everything and shows the worst of humanity.
“There’s always a price to pay, and I’m willing to pay it. “The favorite?