Early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.
Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen’s companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way.
The Favourite is a 2018 historical period comedy-drama film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. It is a co-production by producers in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The story addresses the relationship between two cousins vying to be court favourites of Queen Anne in the early 18th century. It stars Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn, James Smith, and Mark Gatiss. Filming took place at Hatfield House and Hampton Court Palace, Richmond upon Thames, between March and May 2017.
The world premiere of The Favourite was at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on 30 August 2018, where the film won two awards: the Grand Jury Prize and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress (Colman). It was released in the United States on 23 November 2018, by Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film received critical acclaim, with praise for its screenplay, direction, cinematography, music, costume design, production values, and the performances of the three leading women.
The American Film Institute selected it as one of the top 10 films of 2018, and among other accolades, it received five Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Colman won Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. The film received 12 nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards including Best Film, Best Actress (Colman), two nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Stone and Weisz) and Best Director (Lanthimos).
The Favourite (2018)
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Emma Delves, Faye Daveney, Paul Swaine, LillyRose Stevens, Jennifer White, Denise Mack, Carolyn Saint-Pé, Willem Dalby, Edward Aczel
Screenplay by: Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Production Design by: Fiona Crombie
Cinematography by: Robbie Ryan
Film Editing by: Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Costume Design by: Sandy Powell
Set Decoration by: Alice Felton
Art Direction by: Caroline Barclay, Sarah Bick, Lynne Huitson, Dominic Roberts
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content, nudity and language.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: November 23, 2018
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