Last month, Yorgos Lanthimos unveiled his latest film, the icy drama “The Killing Of A Sacred Deer,” which Jessica Kiang absolutely loved. But the director already has his next movie in the can, and it’s pretty big gear shift and sees the filmmaker going down the path of the period picture.
Starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman, “The Favorite” is a bawdy, acerbic tale of royal intrigue, passion, envy and betrayal in the court of Queen Anne in early 18th century England. At the center of the story is the Queen herself (Colman), whose relationship with her confidante, adviser and clandestine lover Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (Weisz) is turned upside down by the arrival of the Duchess’s younger cousin Abigail (Stone). Soon the balance of power shifts between the women as they jockey for influence with the Queen and the court. Sounds like it’s going to be something fiery, and Weisz reveals it’s going to have some tonal similarities to a classic film about women and rivalries.
“This young girl comes to court, called Abigail Marsham, who really existed,” Weisz explained the story in a new interview. “She manages to become the queen’s favorite and also lover. And there’s an intense rivalry between my character and her, a little bit like ‘All About Eve’ in that way. My character is usurped by a younger suitor, for the role of the favorite.”
That being said, it’ll still be Lanthimos film, just in different dressing. “I would say it’s a comedy. I think he would say it’s a comedy,” she said. “It’s funny. It’s different in that it’s not an imagined world, almost all of it really happened. There are some things that are dreamt up, but it’s English history, so it’s not just a Yorgosian dystopia or fairy tale.”
We’re sure it’s going to be something special, no matter what it is, but we’ll be waiting as it’s not likely to appear until next year (I’d assume at Cannes). “The Killing Of A Sacred Deer” opens on November 3rd. [Indiewire]