THE FAVOURITE (2018)

THE FAVOURITE's plot never ceases to intrigue. It's very funny, although a couple of jokes are predictable. There's 1 rape joke in particular where, if you don't guess the punchline, you haven't seen any adult sitcom this century. The performances are great, but I don't get why Olivia Colman and Emma Stone have been nominated/have won lead actress and supporting actress awards respectively. I think it should be the other way around. I have mixed feelings about the unconventional cinematography. It worked in the gorgeous THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (also directed by Yorgos Lanthimos), because it created the right atmosphere for a psychological thriller. This is a satire. Maybe it could work if it was a surreal one, but it's not. There are only a few absurd moments, and they're nothing like what we've seen in Yorgos' other dark comedies (is it a coincidence that this is the 1st movie where he didn't write the script?). On top of that, the use of different lenses and certain camera movements take the viewer out of the movie. This all changed at the end. I won't say what happens in the story, but I will talk about the technical aspects, so I hope you don't consider that a spoiler. There are 2 consecutive shots that made me say "This is the best-directed scene!" They're each much longer than every other shot in the movie and they're both still close-ups. Therefore, we don't get distracted and the performances are allowed to deliver the emotional punch. However, Yorgos then starts to play with editing effects right before the credits roll. We tolerate it when pretentious film school students do it, because they don't have a budget so they feel the need to compensate. What's your excuse?


8/10
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