‘The Favourite’ Trailer: A Nutty Royal Love Triangle Between Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone
In many ways, it seems like Yorgos Lanthimos‘ The Favourite is refreshing salve for the devastating wounds left behind by his last film. If The Killing of a Sacred Deer left you horrified and disturbed (with that ending, how could it not?), the loopy royal shenanigans of the Greek filmmaker’s latest might be exactly what you need.
The Favourite, directed by Lanthimos (The Lobster, Dogtooth) and notably the first project he didn’t write, follows a zany political love triangle between Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman (The Crown, Broachchurch, Fleabag), and Emma Stone. The first teaser looked delightfully nutty, but it has nothing on the new full trailer, which is overflowing with royal madness. There’s about a dozen films I genuinely can’t wait to see this fall, but this one is easily in my top five. Here’s the official synopsis:
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. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way.
As much as I love the twisted bleakness of Lanthimos’ films, I must admit I’m looking forward to laughing a bit more after Sacred Deer. Though humor is nothing new for him; The Lobster is hilarious once you get past the shock of it all on a second viewing. Plus, who could deny a power struggle/queer love triangle between three actresses as great as Colman, Weisz, and Stone? Seriously, this movie can’t be in my eyeballs soon enough. Stay tuned for our review once it premieres at the New York Film Festival. The Favourite hits theaters November 23.