The Favourite
Dir: Yorgos LanthimosCast: Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, Nicholas Hoult
119mins 2018 Ireland, UK, US 15 English
Audio Described 
F-Rated The Favourite
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, giving Abigail the chance to realise her ambitions, not letting woman, man, politics or rabbits stand in her way.
'Lanthimos' renegade deviltry turns a period piece into a bawdy, brilliant triumph' - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
''...simply awe-inspiring in the way it harbors serious themes and anxieties about womanhood underneath a deceptively feather-light surface' - Tomris Laffly, rogerebert.com