The Favorite

From the director Yorgos Lanthimos comes this Oscar nominated movie The Favorite. Set in 18 century England during the time of the war between England and France. Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman) is the ruler of England but she is being manipulated and influenced by her close friend/lover Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) . Queen Anne suffers from ill health,mood swings and temper tantrums which gives more opportunity for Lady Sarah to have her way as she takes the place of the queen whenever queen Anne is sick or sulking.

 A new servant Abigail Masham (Emma Stone) who is also the cousin of Lady Sarah arrives at the palace. Abigail was first stationed to work in the scullery but due to her charm Lady Sarah takes her under her wing and she started working close to the queen. Abigail who was from a prestigious and aristocratic background saw this as an opportunity to get her place back in the society.
    As the war becomes more intense Lady Sarah became busy and absent which gave Abigail more time alone with the queen. Abigail filled in Lady Sarah's role as the queen's lover and she was liked by the queen. Lady Sarah realises this and she starts a war with Abigail but Abigail is determined not to let anything or anyone stand in the way of achieving her goal .

   This movie shows the struggle of women in the bid to make name for themselves in the society. Lady Sarah although reputable and well respected has to fight to maintain her position in the society while Abigail who is from a formally well to do family has to struggle to make herself a reputable person once again in the society. The queen although she holds a position of authority is a very weak person which made her vulnerable to Lady Sarah and Abigail.
    The Favorite has scenes of nudity,homosexuality (between women), masturbation is implied and offensive words are used. Although it is set in a time of war, no war scenes are shown. The movie is rated R for strong sexual content, nudity and language. It was released on November 23rd 2018 and it runs for 119minutes.