The Favourite (4 Stars)

This is the the third film in the Stuttgart White Nights Festival.

"The Favourite" is a film in everyone's mouth at the moment. It's a satirical period drama about the intrigues in the house of Queen Anne in the early 18th Century. Unlike "Mary Queen of Scots", which I watched yesterday, it makes no attempt to be historically accurate.

Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) is shown to be sickly, unable to walk because of gout. She's being cared for by a noblewoman, Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz), who is also the Queen's lesbian lover. The household is joined by Sarah's cousin, Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), who has lost her nobility because her father lost her in a game of cards. Now Abigail joins the house as a servant. The Queen takes a liking to her and gives her priority over her cousin.

The film tells the story of the rivalry between the two women to become the Queen's favourite.

After hearing so much about the film I found it not as good as I expected. It's a good film, but not brilliant, and I fail to see why it's received such critical acclaim.