It strangely, rapidly loses steam in its final ten or so minutes, but this is otherwise a delight. It is, in a positive way, what one would expect and hope for: an absurd and savage comedy of ambition and social climbing performed to the hilt by its three central actresses and directed with a characteristic queasy deadpan by director Yorgos Lanthimos. It is another fine achievement for Lanthimos as he carves a Wes Anderson-sized niche for himself and his distinct style and sense of humor in the film industry.

In terms of the Academy Awards as a type of political campaign, which the characters in The Favourite would enjoy, Fox Searchlight definitely made the wrong decision regarding category placements. The three ladies are being nominated regardless, but I believe Olivia Colman would have steamrolled to a victory in Best Supporting Actress. They should have placed her and Rachel Weisz there, with Emma Stone in the lead category.

This is fantastic and all three of the leads are great, as is Nicholas Hoult. Emma Stone is perfectly cast here. It's hard to pick a favorite of the three because they're all hilarious and brilliant but for me the MVP is Rachel Weisz.

I saw this for the second time last night. So good.

I loved it. So fun and witty. All three actresses were excellent. My only issue is the finale which definitely starts to drag and it goes out with a slight whimper rather than a bang. But the majority of the film is excellent.

9/10 (A-)

This was a big risk for me but I didn’t hate it. It is very well shot, and the music is mostly good. And it is very erotic. Very. Though there still is alot of nonsense that keeps it from ever being great.

It also kind of plays as an opposite to Vice. A person uses dastardly means to acquire a ton of political power for themselves. But Emma actually ends a war to get what she wants, potentially saving thousands of lives. I think they should have gone further with this instead of what they did with the rabbit. “See Absolute power corrupts absolutely just like they always say.” Yet it made the world a slightly better place so does it really?

I loved this. I tend to find period films a bit tedious, but the trio of actresses had me hooked for this.

A

This is great, mainly cause I couldn't be impressed more by the combination of Colman, Stone and Weisz. I felt Stone's performance was the most complex and best of her career, there is so many layers in how she acts for different people (eg. like in the initial scenes wooing or wrestling her future husband) while motivated by the trauma of losing everything, living on the street and being raped repeatedly, etc. in the past and the need to never go back there. A superb "villain" role - Not to take anything away from Colman who deserved her Oscar for how much is written on Anne's face at all times, and Weisz who is also arguably career best in another complex character. Abigail may have dipped lower than Sara, but Sara always had wealth and a rich husband to fall back on. It's hard to tell how she would react in as desperate a situation.

After Poor Things I got excited to watch another YL film and this is very good too. The performances of the actress trio is what to mainly watch it for. And of those I was not that impressed by Stone, but Weisz and Colman are both just fantastic. Other than that, the film is nicely shot, the score is good and the story is interesting enough, but it doesn't quite peak in a certain way. The period setting is not really my thing so that probably plays a part in me not loving it more.

B+