Fox Searchlight Pictures has unveiled the full-length trailer for The Favourite, the latest offering from The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. The movie only just had its world premiere at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival, where it earned near-universal praise from critics for its absurd political comedy and Olivia Colman’s performance as an ailing and ill-tempered Queen Anne.
The Favourite takes place in early 18th century England, where Anne’s close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in-between caring for her sickly queen. When a new servant named Abagail (Emma Stone) arrives in court, she is able to win Sarah over with her charm and gets the chance to regain her aristocratic standing by filling in as the queen’s companion. However, it turns out Abagail is more determined than expected and won’t let anyone (or anything) stand in the way of her ambitions.
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Following on the heels of the film’s Venice showing, Fox has released the official trailer for The Favourite online. Whereas The Favourite teaser trailer highlighted a series of offbeat moments and visual gags from the film, the full-length promo dives into the actual plot of Deborah Davis and Tony McNarma’s script, as well as the dynamic between the movie’s three leads. Take a look in the space above, then check out the film’s new poster below:
The Favourite is the first movie that Lanthimos has directed without also cowriting since his 2001 comedy My Best Friend, as well as his first period piece. Most of the filmmaker’s previous efforts have taken place in the present day – with the exception of The Lobster, which takes place in a dystopian future where single adults are required to find a romantic partner within forty-five days, or else they are transformed into an animal of their choosing and sent off to live in the wild.
Colman is a celebrated character actor with acclaimed roles in films like Tyrannosaur and the TV series Broadchurch under her belt, as well as a Golden Globe winning turn in The Night Manager. Based on the film’s enthusiastic reception in Venice, many awards season prognosticators are already predicting that Colman will land her first Oscar nod for The Favourite, with fellow Oscar-winners Weisz (who costarred with Colman in The Lobster) and Stone also landing praise for their performances.
Lanthimos is more of a wild card when it comes to awards season predictions. It’s generally agreed that his previous films were too weird and out-there for the Academy’s tastes, with The Lobster only landing a single Oscar nomination for its screenplay. However, a royal court satire – even one that looks as strange as The Favourite – may yet prove more palatable for the Academy by comparison.
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Key Release Dates
The Favourite
Release Date:2018-11-23
