The Favourite

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2:07

The Favourite

R

2018

2h 0m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

430 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In the early 18th century, England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne, and her close friend Lady Sarah governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing, and Abigail sees a chance to return to her aristocratic roots.

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Critics Consensus

The Favourite sees Yorgos Lanthimos balancing a period setting against rich, timely subtext - and getting roundly stellar performances from his well-chosen stars.

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Molly Haskell

Film Comment Magazine

02/27/2020

It's a dark view, but dark views, like sunny views, have to come from somewhere. Where is Lanthimos's dark sun? I don't know, but I'll definitely keep watching.

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Cate Young

IndieWire

03/10/2019

Yorgos Lanthimos' dryly funny historical feature is all about power, and that means literally wearing the pants in a strange time.

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Jourdain Searles

Bitch Media

02/23/2019

In the end, The Favourite is a haunting reminder of the limits of control.

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JD Duran

InSession Film

08/07/2024

The Favourite is a wild and hilarious romp that is equal parts everything I love about Yorgos Lanthimos, but it’s also quite unique and different for him as well.

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Calum Cooper

Source (Scotland)

07/14/2024

4/5

In between its stylish costumes and jovial soundtrack is a film with plenty to say on power, and how it’s most suited to the merciless and the conniving rather than the good natured.

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Brendan Cassidy

InSession Film

07/02/2024

Yorgos Lanthimos’ trip to 18th century England is so irreverent in its jabs at the power dynamics of high society that I half expected to see cameo appearances by the cast of Monty Python.

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Jake L.

@JJL-42 5d

Truly amazing. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Casually absurd, delightfully dark.

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Anderson A

@Anderson47474 Feb 12

Atuações absurdas das 3 protagonistas e uma história envolvente e diferente com várias nuances e mulheres manipuladoras que usam todas suas armas pra se dar bem na vida. 8.5

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John F

Feb 9

Unchecked power corrupts, regardless of the economic system. Not quite at the level of Poor Things but still magnificent.

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din d

@L1J2K3 Feb 8

Hands down Yorgos's best film. The character development is masterclass, the amount of emotion switching from hilarious too scary to sad is unbelievably, and the performances all around are Oscar worthy. Just a work of art.

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Iamwhoi M

@Shaboutiques Feb 2

Not particularly into this time period; but the human condition story transcends.

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Andy Y

Nov 22

Abigail played by Emma Stone is characterized very interestingly. It is like you love this character and want to keep seeing her appearance but always subconsciously think something bad will happen to her and she will end up in tragedy. However, although she got bullied quite a few time in beginning, she is not the typical "beautiful, pitiful, brainless vase;" you can see the intelligence in her eye, which is shown more and more as the movie progresses later. Her dynamic with her later husband is also interesting: she shows desires and temptation but never fully satisfy the man, keeping him always on the hook. Later in the stories, although Abigail did some quite harmful things and you see it directly, you internally actually do not want to admit that she is bad, causing that conflict in your feeling. Yorgos's film always "pull in" all my emotions and feeling: it is not just entertaining but also consuming in a good way as you just cannot stop thinking about the character for a while. For Abigail, it is this internal "conflict" that lingered with me. Overall, this movie is a absolute must-see. But it is not a easy, totally entertaining movie. It is best when your mind is clear and is ready to put in some emotions and feeling into the experience.

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Yorgos Lanthimos

Director

Olivia Colman

Queen Anne

Rachel Weisz

Lady Sarah

Emma Stone

Abigail

Nicholas Hoult

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The Favourite: Trailer 1

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The Favourite: Teaser Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the early 18th century, England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne, and her close friend Lady Sarah governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing, and Abigail sees a chance to return to her aristocratic roots.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Producer: Yorgos Lanthimos, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday
Screenwriter: Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Waypoint Entertainment, Film4
Rating: R (Nudity|Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.2M
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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