The Favourite

Today I saw The Favourite, starring Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.

Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) is a mess—physically, mentally, politically. She has a close confidante/lover/advisor in Lady Sarah (Weisz) and utilizes her to truly run the country.

Along comes Sarah's cousin Abigail (Stone) to throw everything off course.

She enters the castle as one of the "help," but soon has her eyes set on a better title, knowing she'll need to get close to the Queen to do so. Lady Sarah is very threatened by Abigail and in turn lets her know it. Sarah underestimates Abigail's capacity for self-preservation and Sarah soon finds herself ill from a poisoned cup of tea.

Abigail gets closer and closer to the Queen and soon marries, rapidly regaining her "Lady" status. However, she maintains a sexual relationship with the Queen and remains by her side at all times. This infuriates Sarah, who does everything in her power to put things back the way they were.

This film can easily be described as a "romp" and that's not a bad thing. It's fun to watch these women get caught up in each other's drama and compete for the attention of a crazy, aging royal. All three leads are perfectly cast and leave you believing the nonsense. Funny thing? Much of the story is actually true, which only makes it more fun.

If you want a good, racy laugh delivered by fine actors in amazing costumes, this is the film for you.

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