Hatfield House stars in a sumptuous costume-comedy-drama coming to a screen near you (in the UK) soon. I saw a preview with Robert yesterday.
It has won critical acclaim; it has a good cast; the story is mostly true. But the locations, music and cinematography steal the show. If the film reminds you of the great Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick) that’s because it’s almost all shot in natural light but with a few gimmicks thrown in, like whip pan shots – Steadicam is so passé.
You should probably see it but be aware that the plot is flimsy and stretched over two hours. It is scabrous and the comedy is only funny if you like Blackadder dialogue and repetition of four letter swear words. The box office takings will be great but the film ain’t.
I’m talking about The Favourite, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. He’s Greek but not a former finance minister – indeed he has directed some well received films that I’ve not seen. He cast Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, Rachel Weisz as Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and Emma Stone as Abigail Hill. The bits of the story that are not, I think, true are Queen Anne’s obsession with rabbits, her predilection for racing lobsters and eating them afterwards and her Court’s craze for racing ducks. Perhaps Queen Anne’s sexual peccadilloes were not exactly as portrayed but I cannot say for sure. Almost everything else, including the D of M getting caught with his fingers in the till, is more-or-less fact.