The latest from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, while it
lacks his attachment to the script as well as the involvement of his go-to DOP
Thimios Bakatakis, operates within his usual realms of all things quietly
insane. A costume drama set in the early 18th century, involving a
battle for the favour of Queen Anne (played superbly by Olivia Colman) between
cousins Abigail (Emma Stone in rare, vengeful form) and Sarah (Rachel Weisz
apparently trying to redeem herself for her last attempt at romantic period drama). It marks the most easily-digestible film Yorgos
has made yet, meaning that I’m not going to be wallowing in a critical malaise
trying to figure this shit out like last time. It also means I get to talk about one of the funniest films I’ve seen
all year without any cerebral hang-ups.
And on that note, while I could point out this film’s varying levels of historical
inaccuracy… well, part of that inaccuracy is in the dialogue, and I’m not about
to shit on a good thing because this is amazingly well-written. Put together by the newly-minted Deborah Davis and Aussie TV scribe Tony McNamara, this certainly feels
like it was written by someone who understands this kind of sexual power struggle, and someone from the land where cunt is the national word. This isn’t just vulgar, it’s vulgar to a truly exceptional
degree, giving a very seedy undercurrent (or rather overcurrent with how prominent it is) to the story’s look at the
British upper class. It goes from restrained to childish to venomous to
sensuous at the drop of a hat; any film that uses words like ‘vajuju’ and
‘cuntstruck’ is definitely shooting for colour points, and it certainly gets
them. Along with some of the hardest laughs at the upper crust I’ve uttered
since first watching Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. Oh, and duck racing; that helps too.
Of course, vulgarity isn’t exactly something that a film
like this can sustain as its sole quality; this is about aristocrats but it
ain’t The Aristocrats. Instead, the forceful writing ends up serving a greater
edge as it helps the depiction of the royal inner circle do what people in the
royal inner circle are best known for: Straight-faced backstabbing. It’s a
darkly comedic, almost screwball, depiction of royal power struggles, with Abigail
and Sarah going to varyingly psychotic lengths in order to curry favour with
the Queen. While driven by differing ends, Abigail wanting to regain her regal
standing after being sold off by her father to a balloon-shaped German with a
thin cock (her words, not mine) while Sarah merely wants to retain the status
she already has, they both thirst for power by proxy. What results from their snide battle of wills is Beast vs.
Smiler by way of weapons-grade foppishness, both showing different but equally
vicious mindsets.
And then there’s the Queen herself, who we end up feeling
most sorry for in the midst of all this. All the credit has to go to Olivia
Colman for her performance here, as her depiction of the very
lame-in-the-classical-sense and psychologically scarred monarch handles a lot
of difficult thematic territory with remarkable ease. Showing a sizeable sense
of humour, and a rather self-parodic level of disinterest with affairs of state,
it’s difficult not to feel bad for her circumstances and the people two-facing
her regarding the ongoing war. But the real genius with this is how, even with
all that in mind, the film never loses its bearings. No matter who ends up
winning her affections, they are still siding up to this woman because she
holds the power. They may both try to get into the Queen's bed, but it's a Queen-sized bed for a reason.
This is an exceptionally funny film, possibly one of the best Yorgos has made yet in that regard. But don't let that fool you; this still delves into quite dark territory, and by the time the credits start rolling, the last thing you'll want to be doing is laughing.
Great review! I had to mull over this one for almost a week before I really knew how to feel about it. I definitely need to see it again soon!
ReplyDeleteI saw this film yesterday & saw you on ABC TV tonight. Found your Movie Review website & what an excellent review for this oddly eccentric movie. Your perspective on this helped me to think through my own. An interesting movie & a great movie review. Thank you
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