Jump to content

The Favourite

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 109.79.177.186 (talk) at 23:13, 9 November 2018 (Overlink. Avoid unnecessary abbreviations.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Favourite
Theatrical release poster
Directed byYorgos Lanthimos
Written by
  • Deborah Davis
  • Tony McNamara
Produced by
  • Ceci Dempsey
  • Ed Guiney
  • Lee Magiday
  • Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring
CinematographyRobbie Ryan
Edited byYorgos Mavropsaridis [3]
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures[4]
Release dates
  • 30 August 2018 (2018-08-30) (Venice)
  • 23 November 2018 (2018-11-23) (United States)
  • 1 January 2019 (2019-01-01) (United Kingdom[1])
Running time
120 minutes[5]
Countries
  • Ireland[2]
  • United Kingdom[2]
  • United States[2]
LanguageEnglish

The Favourite is a 2018 historical period drama film[2] directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, from a screenplay written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. A co-production of Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom, the story focuses on the behind-the-scenes politics between two cousins jockeying to be court favourites during the reign 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 Hertfordshire, England, between March and May 2017.

The Favourite had its world premiere at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on 30 August 2018, where it won two awards: the Grand Jury Prize and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for Colman's performance.[6][7] The film has received widespread critical acclaim with major praise drawn towards its screenplay, direction, acting, and production values. It is scheduled to be released in the United States on 23 November 2018, by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Plot

The close relationship between Queen Anne (Colman) and Sarah Churchill (Weisz) is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Masham (Stone), resulting in a bitter rivalry to be the Queen's favourite.

Cast

Production

Development

In September 2015, it was announced that Yorgos Lanthimos would direct the film, from a screenplay by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, which was described as "a bawdy, acerbic tale of royal intrigue, passion, envy, and betrayal."[8] Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, and Andrew Lowe served as producers under their Scarlet Films and Element Pictures banners, respectively.[9] This is the first film in which neither Lanthimos nor his frequent collaborator Efthymis Filippou serve as screenwriters, but Lanthimos was nonetheless attracted to Davis' and McNamara's script, and "became acquainted with the three female characters who happened to be real people. I felt that it was an interesting story in its own right, but you also have the opportunity to create three complex female characters which is something you rarely see."[10]

In regards to the film's plot, specifically the lesbian-centric love triangle, Lanthimos stated that "My instinct from the beginning was that I didn't want this to become an issue in the film, for us, like we're trying to make a point out of it [...] I didn't even want the characters in the film to be making an issue of it. I just wanted to deal with these three women as human beings. It didn't matter that there were relationships of the same gender. I stopped thinking about that very early on in the process."[11] Lanthimos also elaborated on the "positive" effect the Me Too movement had on the film: "Because of the prevalent male gaze in cinema, women are portrayed as housewives, girlfriends… Our small contribution is we're just trying to show them as complex and wonderful and horrific as they are, like other human beings."[10]

Casting

In September 2015, it was announced that Emma Stone, Olivia Colman and Kate Winslet had been cast in the film, portraying Abigail Masham, Queen Anne, and Sarah Churchill, respectively.[9] By October 2015, Rachel Weisz joined the cast of the film, replacing Winslet.[12] This comes as the second collaboration between Lanthimos, Colman, and Weisz, all of whom previously worked together on Lanthimos' The Lobster (2015).[13] In February 2017, Nicholas Hoult joined the cast of the film.[14] In March 2017, Joe Alwyn joined, too.[15] On 8 August 2018, James Smith and Jenny Rainsford were announced as additional members of the cast.[16] In an interview for IndieWire, Weisz described the film as a comedy, comparing it to a "funnier, sex driven" All About Eve.[17] Colman stated that playing the Queen was "a joy because she sort of feels everything,” and when asked if the character was nothing more than a petulant child, she stated that, “She's just a woman who is underconfident and doesn't know if anyone genuinely loves her. She has too much power, too much time on her hands."[10] Stone revealed that her greatest concern with her role was mastering her accent: "It's 1705, which was about 300 years before any period I had ever done. It was pretty daunting on a few levels — having to be British and not stick out like a sore thumb [...]"[18]

Filming

A majority of the film's principal photography took place at the Hatfield House, Hertfordshire.

Filming was expected to begin in the spring of 2016, but was pushed back a year, during which time Lanthimos directed The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017).[19] Principal photography began in March 2017 at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire[20][21] and concluded in May 2017.[8] Lanthimos stated that a major reason for filming at the Hatfield House was because "From the beginning, I had this image of these lonely characters in huge spaces."

Production designer Fiona Crombie drew inspiration from the chequered black-and-white marble floor in the Great Hall for the film's colour palette, noting that "a character will walk into a room and you get this incredible wide-shot – we're talking seeing from the floors to the ceilings to the corners. You see everything." Several alterations were made to various rooms in the house, particularly for the Queen's room, which included removing paintings, furniture, and other decorations, in order to "put our own language into it." As with most of Lanthimos' works, the film implements natural lighting as opposed to artificial lighting, which proved to be somewhat challenging for the night time scenes, which were candle-lit: "as you imagine, there are very strict protocols about managing candles [...] we had to use an enormous number of wax catchers. But the people who manage Hatfield were very supportive and we negotiated and negotiated, and we would be able to do a vast majority of what we wanted to do."[22]

Music

The soundtrack includes pieces by classical composers such as Handel, Bach, Purcell and Vivaldi, as well as modern composers like Olivier Messiaen, Luc Ferrari and Anna Meredith.[23]

Release

In May 2017, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film.[8] It had its world premiere at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on 30 August 2018.[24][25] It also screened at the Telluride Film Festival, on 2 September 2018, the New York Film Festival on 28 September 2018, where it served as the opening night film, and the BFI London Film Festival on 18 October 2018.[16][26][27][28] It is scheduled to have a limited release in the United States on 23 November 2018[29] and 1 January 2019 in UK Cinemas.[30]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 56 reviews with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Favourite sees Yorgos Lanthimos balancing a period setting against rich, timely subtext - and getting roundly stellar performances from his well-chosen stars."[31] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[32]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result References
British Independent Film Awards 2 December 2018 Best British Independent Film The Favourite Pending [33]
Best Director Yorgos Lanthimos Pending
Best Actress Olivia Colman Pending
Best Supporting Actress Emma Stone Pending
Rachel Weisz Pending
Best Casting Dixie Chassay Pending
Best Cinematography Robbie Ryan Pending
Best Costume Design Sandy Powell Pending
Best Editing Yorgos Mavropsaridis Pending
Best Make-up & Hair Design Nadia Stacey Pending
Best Production Design Fiona Crombie Pending
Best Screenplay Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara Pending
Best Sound Johnnie Burn Pending
Camerimage 17 November 2018 Golden Frog Robbie Ryan Pending [34]
Chéries-Chéris 27 November 2018 Grand Prize The Favourite Pending [35]
Film Fest Gent 19 October 2018 Best Film The Favourite Nominated [36]
[37]
Gotham Awards 26 November 2018 Best Feature The Favourite Pending [38]
Best Screenplay Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara Pending
Special Jury Award for Ensemble Performance Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz Won
Audience Award The Favourite Pending
Hollywood Film Awards 4 November 2018 Hollywood Supporting Actress Award Rachel Weisz Proposed[a] [41]
Hollywood Costume Design Award Sandy Powell Won
La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival 21 October 2018 Special Jury Prize The Favourite Won[b] [42]
[43]
Telluride Film Festival 3 September 2018 Silver Medallion Emma Stone Won [44]
Venice Film Festival 8 September 2018 Golden Lion The Favourite Nominated [45]
[46]
[47]
Grand Jury Prize The Favourite Won
Queer Lion The Favourite Nominated
Volpi Cup for Best Actress Olivia Colman Won

Notes

  1. ^ Weisz was announced to receive the Hollywood Supporting Actress Award on 11 October 2018,[39][40] however she was later excluded from the final winner list.[41]
  2. ^ Tied with Profile.

References

  1. ^ "The Favourite – Film Review (Venice Film Festival 2018)". Filmoria. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d "The Favourite (2018)". AllMovie. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  3. ^ IMDb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5083738/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm. Retrieved 11 October 2018. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  5. ^ "The Favourite". Venice International Film Festival 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  6. ^ Anderson, Ariston (25 July 2018). "Venice to Kick Off Awards Season With New Films From Coen Brothers, Luca Guadagnino and Alfonso Cuaron". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  7. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (25 July 2018). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Heavy on Award Hopefuls, Netflix and Star Power". Variety. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Dry, Jude (15 May 2017). "Yorgos Lanthimos Wraps Period Piece 'The Favourite,' Official Synopsis Hints At Royal-Centric Lesbian Love Triangle". IndieWire. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  9. ^ a b Jafaar, Ali (24 September 2015). "Emma Stone & Olivia Colman In Talks To Board Yorgos Lanthimos' 'The Favourite'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  10. ^ a b c Tartaglione, Nancy (30 August 2018). "Olivia Colman On 'The Favourite': It Was "Awfully Fun Having Sex With Emma Stone" – Venice". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  11. ^ Kohn, Eric (3 September 2018). "Yorgos Lanthimos on the Lesbian Love Triangle of 'The Favourite': 'I Didn't Want This to Become an Issue'". IndieWire. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  12. ^ Jafaar, Ali (15 October 2015). "Rachel Weisz In Talks To Reunite With Yorgos Lanthimos In 'The Favourite'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  13. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (31 March 2014). "Yorgos Lanthimos commences The Lobster shoot". Cineuropa. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  14. ^ Busch, Anita (28 February 2017). "Nicholas Hoult Joins Emma Stone And Rachel Weisz In 'The Favourite'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  15. ^ Ford, Rebecca (3 March 2017). "'Billy Lynn' Star Joe Alwyn Joins Emma Stone in 'The Favourite' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  16. ^ a b Chu, Henry (8 August 2018). "Yorgos Lanthimos' 'The Favourite' to Be London Film Festival Centerpiece". Variety. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  17. ^ Erbland, Kate (6 June 2017). "Rachel Weisz Says Yorgos Lanthimos' 'The Favourite' Is Like a Funnier, Sex-Driven 'All About Eve'". IndieWire. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  18. ^ Galloway, Stephen (2 September 2018). "Telluride: Emma Stone Reveals Her Acting Breaking Points". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  19. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (11 May 2016). "Cannes: Colin Farrell Reunites With Yorgos Lanthimos for 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  20. ^ Daniels, Nia (10 January 2017). "Emma Stone to film The Favourite in UK". The Knowledge Bulletin. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  21. ^ Kroll, Justin (20 March 2017). "Colin Farrell to Star as Oliver North in Iran-Contra Series for Amazon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  22. ^ Smith, Shona (3 September 2018). "Yorgos Lanthimos's Venice Film Festival crowd pleaser The Favourite filmed almost exclusively at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire". The Location Guide. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  23. ^ Rooney, David (30 August 2018). "The Favourite: Film Review". THR. THR. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  24. ^ Barbera, Alberto [@AlbertoBarbera2] (8 August 2018). "Giovedì 30 agosto" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (25 July 2018). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Welles, Coen Brothers, Cuaron, Greengrass, More – Live". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  26. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (30 August 2018). "'First Man,' 'Front Runner' and 'Roma' Among 2018 Telluride Film Festival Selections". Variety. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  27. ^ "45th Telluride Film Festival Program Guide" (PDF). Telluride Film Festival. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  28. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (23 July 2018). "'The Favourite' To Open 56th New York Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  29. ^ Hayes, Britt (20 April 2018). "Yorgos Lanthimos' 'The Favourite' Sets Awards Season Release". ScreenCrush. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  30. ^ "New Poster and Trailer launched for THE FAVOURITE". Filmoria.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ "The Favourite (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  32. ^ "The Favourite Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  33. ^ "Element Pictures' The Favourite Leads British Independent Film Awards 2018 Nominations" (Press release). Dublin, Ireland: Element Pictures. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018. {{cite press release}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 6, 2018 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ "Energacamerimage 2018 Main Competition Line-up". Camerimage. 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ "Chéries-Chéris 2018: Compétition Longs Métrages" [Chéries-Chéris 2018: Feature Films Competition] (in French). Chéries-Chéris. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Programma 45e Film Fest Gent bekend!" [Program 45th Film Fest Gent known!] (in Dutch). Film Fest Gent. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ "'Cold War' by Paweł Pawlikowski and 'High Life' by Claire Denis victorious at 45th Film Fest Gent". Film Fest Gent. 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Mandinach, Zach (18 October 2018). "Nominations Announced for the 28th Annual IFP Gotham Awards" (Press release). New York, NY: Independent Filmmaker Project. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ "Timothée Chalamet and Rachel Weisz to be Honored at the 22nd Annual 'Hollywood Film Awards'" (Press release). Hollywood, CA: Hollywood Film Awards. 11 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ Kilday, Gregg (October 11, 2018). "Timothee Chalamet, Rachel Weisz Tapped for Hollywood Film Award Honors". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ a b "The 22nd Annual 'Hollywood Film Awards®' Marked The Launch Of Awards Season With A Star-Studded Evening" (Press release). Hollywood, CA: Hollywood Film Awards. November 4, 2018. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ "Palmarès du 9e Festival International du Film de La Roche-sur-Yon!" [Winners of the 9th La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival!] (Press release) (in French). La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival. October 21, 2018. Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ "La Roche-sur-Yon. Le festival du film dévoile son palmarès" [La Roche-sur-Yon. The film festival unveils its record.]. Ouest-France (in French). Groupe Ouest-France. October 21, 2018. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ "45th Telluride Film Festival Announces 2018 Program Lineup" (PDF) (Press release). Telluride, CO: Telluride Film Festival. 30 August 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  45. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2018 – Venezia 75 Competition". Venice Biennale. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ "Official Awards Of The 75th Venice Film Festival". Venice Biennale. 8 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 8 September 2018 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ "Collateral Awards Of The 75th Venice Film Festival". Venice Biennale. 7 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 8 September 2018 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Favourite&oldid=868092231"