THE FAVOURITE : Tuesday 8th January 2019.

'THE FAVOURITE' which I saw this week at my local Art Deco independent theatre, is made by Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek film, video, and theatre Director, Producer and Screenwriter who here brings us this historical comedy drama offering that saw its World Premier screening at the Venice Film Festival back in late August, and where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress going to Olivia Colman. The film went on general release in the US in late November, was released in the UK on 1st January, has so far taken US$28M off the back of a US$15M production Budget, and has garnered widespread Critical acclaim. Lanthimos has enjoyed success more recently also with 'The Lobster' in 2015 and 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' in 2017. The film was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture of which it won one, for Olivia Colman as Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, and has subsequently picked up a total of 78 award wins and another 228 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, including thirteen recently announced BAFTA nominations.

Set during the very early years of the 18th century when England is at war with the French, and a frail 42 year old Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) sits on the throne suffering from gout, weight gain, and various other ailments - both physical and mental. She has very little interest in governing her lands and the machinations of the two political parties of the era and instead likes to throw lavish parties, have political guests almost run riot in her Royal household, and care for her seventeen rabbits whom she refers to as her children and which run around freely in her chambers. Each one of the seventeen rabbits represents each one of her seventeen children she had lost over the years, mostly though miscarriages and still births.

Acting as confidante, advisor, lover and practically surrogate Queen is Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) who has considerable sway with the two political parties - the Whigs and the Tories, who mostly look to Sarah as the influential mouthpiece of the Queen, and who in turn they try to influence on matters requiring some direction or a decision.

Meanwhile, Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) arrives at the Royal household seeking employment, having been unceremoniously booted out of a horse drawn carriage at the gate. Abigail was an earlier woman of means, educated, and from a privileged background and upbringing. But for reasons of some poor business choices and a gambling habit, her father lost his good name and fortune and sold his daughter to a German in exchange for a settlement of his debts. And so Abigail has fallen on hard times. Abigail is brought into the Royal palace but as a scullery maid to work in the kitchen on menial tasks - washing pots and scrubbing the floor.

One evening however, Abigail is hurriedly asked to attend the Queen's bed chamber where she lays prone on the floor, and to apply bandages to a sore, infected and inflamed leg. She sees this as an opportunity not to be missed, and so takes a horse early the next morning and rides off into the forest in search of a plant remedy to ease the Queen's suffering, which she then applies in secret. When Sarah initially sees what Abigail has done, and without any permission or knowledge from the Queen (for she slept while Abigail applied the plant extract poultice), she punishes her and orders she be birch whipped for her insolence. However, the Queen's suffering is eased as a result of the remedy, and Sarah can see that her intentions were in fact genuine, so she halts the whipping, and out of gratitude makes Abigail her Lady-in-Waiting.

Robert Harley, the 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (Nicholas Hoult) is a member of Parliament and an influential landowner approaches Abigail with a view to her spying on Sarah and drip feeding him intelligence on what Sarah is scheming behind Royal closed doors, and as a means to sidestep her authority. Abigail initially refuses, but sometime later late at night witnesses Anne and Sarah in a secret lesbian relationship. As a result of this sighting, Abigail begins plotting her own rise to win the Queen's favour and reestablish her position in society.

Sarah becomes increasingly occupied with the war between England and France, at which her husband John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough (Mark Gatiss) is on the frontline battling it out for Queen and country. This is the opportunity for Abigail to foster a closer relationship still with Anne, which she does to good effect, ultimately becoming a sexual relationship. Sarah catches sight of a naked Abigail lying in bed next to Anne one morning, and as a result urges the Queen to have her sent away.

Catching onto this, Abigail spikes Sarah's tea a few days later just before she rides out on horseback. In the forest, Sarah comes to a steady halt on her horse, leans over, vomits and passes out, falling off the horse with one foot caught in a stirrup. The horse bolts dragging an unconscious Sarah through the rough undergrowth of the forest floor for hours until nightfall. Sarah is missing for a couple of days. Anne thinks that this is just a rouse on Sarah's part to make her jealous, and so she dismisses any suggestions of a search party, rather letting her stew in her own juices.

The Queen once again returns to Abigail as her favourite aided by her flattery and subservient attitude. The Queen's first gift to her new favourite is to be permitted to accept the marriage proposal of Samuel Masham (Joe Alwyn), a Baron of Queen Anne's court, which immediately reinstates Abigail's standing in society, aided by a gift of a two thousand pound dowry from the Queen every year from this point on.

Later Sarah comes round in a brothel where her wounds had been attended to do by the Madam of the house. She returns to the Royal household some days later badly scarred to her left cheek, battered and bruised and issues an ultimatum to the Queen to send Abigail away now once and for all, otherwise she'll leak very personal letters to the press that recount the secret affair between the pair. However, Sarah's ploy backfires and ultimately destroys the relationship that she had enjoyed for years with the Queen. As a result, Sarah is stripped of any power she once had, her privileges and her place in the Royal court, and is sent back to her own family home. Sarah then makes numerous attempts to write a letter of reconciliation back to Anne, and finally after finding the words, the letter is intercepted by Abigail and burned on the open fire before it reaches the Queen.

Abigail, as the newly appointed keeper of the Royal finances, reports to Anne that there seems to have been some impropriety in the financial records of the Royal palace, and Sarah appears to have syphoned off seven thousand pounds over recent years in favour of her husband. The Queen initially dismisses this notion, but upon reflection has Sarah and her husband banished from Great Britain. With Sarah now well and truly gone, Abigail's appetite for the good life start to get the better of her. Lavish parties, wild entertainment, rich foods, good wine begin to take their toll.

One day while Anne rests in her bed, and Abigail sits in a chair looking out of the window slurping on a glass of wine with seventeen rabbits running around, she deliberately steps on a rabbit squeezing it under her foot. The rabbit lets out a tiny yelp in pain and fear which is just enough to stir the Queen from her slumber, and for her to take grave offence at. Falling out of bed and scrambling to her feet, Anne steadies herself while Abigail rushes over to assist. Anne grabs Abigail by the hair and orders her to her knees and to start massaging her legs, just as though she were a lowly servant. In massaging the legs of the Queen, both parties seemingly readjust to a new order.

'The Favourite' is a lavish production - from the set design, to the costumes, to the internal and external surroundings around which the film is framed, and it packs a punch a whole lot more than its mere US$15M production Budget would suggest. This is a wickedly entertaining partially historical telling of the fractured relationships that unfolded in the Royal household of England circa 1708, and specifically between the three very manipulative, very strong, very driven female characters. There are some genuinely laugh out loud moments in this film, particularly a dance sequence at a party that has to be seen to be believed involving Harley and Sarah dancing like its 1999 in the Royal household - hysterical! And the use of the 'C' word gets plenty of airing in the film too - hence its MA15+ rating. Lanthimos succeeds in ticking all the boxes - from the striking performances of the three female leads Colman, Stone and Weisz who all demonstrate jealousy, anger, cunning and a nervous tension in equal measure, and from Hoult too; to the production values; to the witty, intense and always sharp dialogue; to the score; and the storyline whilst grounded in historical fact also adds more than a dash of fictional poetic license. And why not, when it all adds up to a film as commendable as this. See it on the big screen while you can, and see for yourself what all the buzz surrounding this film is about.

'The Favourite' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 20th December 2018.

As another year draws to a close, it's time to reflect on the past year of achievements and to wish my global readership all the sincerest Best Wishes for a very Merry Christmas. This year I have Reviewed 48 movies and Previewed 222, and while at it provided a synopsis of some of the more notable film festivals from around the cinematic world and awards ceremonies of repute. I have also paid tribute to numerous personalities of the big screen and the small screen who passed away during the last twelve months, but all of whom leave behind a lasting screen legacy. And, for what it's worth, I've also from time to time let my imagination run away with my ramblings on film genre specific views and opinions.

Thanks for your readership over the last twelve months - it is appreciated, and as long as my global audience continues to show an interest in Odeon Online, I'll keep writing with my Reviews, Previews, news and views with what's hot and what's not in the world of the moving picture. On the eve of Christmas therefore, all that remains for me to say is once again, have yourself a very Merry Christmas, may the force be with you, your God by your side, and a movie that sparks your interest to visit your local Odeon for a few hours of escapism. Have fun, stay safe, and see as many films as you can.

This week we have four new films to tease you out to your local Odeon in the week before Christmas, two of which are of a historical costume drama type, one is of a Sci-Fi alternative world and the other is set in the here and now. First up then we launch with an acclaimed Grecian Director who takes us down a path of the English aristocracy in the early 18th Century and various members of the Royal household jockeying to be the favoured one by the fragile ruling Queen of the time. Next up we turn to an historical biographical drama recounting the story of how this acclaimed French writer rose to fame in the late 19th Century by going against the establishment. We then turn to an origin story and a prequel of a hugely successful film and toy franchise that takes us back to the '80's as this yellow VW is a whole lot more than it seems to be, and he's not the only one! We then wrap up with a martial arts telling that is a spin off of a popular three film Chinese franchise so far that sees our failed protagonist face off against a formidable business kingpin to win back his respect and confidence.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'THE FAVOURITE' (Rated MA15+) - Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek film, video, and theatre Director, Producer and Screenwriter here brings us this historical comedy drama offering that saw its World Premier screening at the Venice Film Festival back in late August where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress going to Olivia Coleman. The film went on general release in the US in late November, is released in the UK on 1st January 2019, has so far recovered US$7M of its US$15M production Budget, and has garnered widespread Critical acclaim. Lanthimos has enjoyed success more recently with 'The Lobster' in 2015 and 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' in 2017. The film has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture, plus 21 award wins from around the circuit, and a further 32 nominations.

Set during the early 18th century, England is at war with the French but in spite of this frivolous past times are thriving on both sides of the English Channel. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman) occupies the throne, and her close friend Lady Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) rules over the country as her surrogate while tending to Anne's ill health and volatile temperament. When a new assistant to the household, Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing, and Abigail foreshadows an ideal opportunity to return to her aristocratic roots having previously fallen upon hard times as a result of her fathers misplaced business dealings. Also starring Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn and Mark Gatiss.

'COLETTE' (Rated M) - this biographical drama film is Directed by Wash Westmoreland, and is based on the life of the French novelist, journalist, actress and mime artist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. She lived from 1873 until 1954 and died at the age of 81, having been nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. She was perhaps best known for her 1944 novella 'Gigi' which was made into a French film in 1949, and a Hollywood Production in 1958 starring Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier and Eva Gabor. That film won the Academy Award for Best Picture the following year. This film tells the story of author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) who after moving to Paris, agrees to ghostwrite a semi-autobiographical novel for her husband Henry Gauthier-Villars (Dominic West). Its success quickly motivates her to stand up for creative ownership and overcome the societal constraints of the early 20th century. The film has its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, went on general release in the US back in September, goes on release in the UK in early January 2019, has so far taken US$7M and has received generally positive Reviews so far.

'BUMBLEBEE' (Rated M) - it seems like the 'Transformers' movie franchise behemoth just keeps on keepin' on, so much so that this Sci-Fi actioner prequel takes us back to the humble beginnings of when that VW Beetle transformed into a Bumblebee, or was it the other way around? This time Michael Bay takes his place as Producer, having Directed all five of the original live action 'Transformers' films to date and gives way to Travis Knight on his live action Directing debut for this instalment. Set twenty years before the events of the first film and on the run in 1987, Bumblebee the Autobot seeks refuge in a junkyard in a small beach community in California. Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), is about to turn eighteen and endeavouring to find her calling in the world, stumbles across the battle-scarred and broken Bumblebee. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns that this is no ordinary yellow Volkswagen, and further the new pairing soon find themselves being hunted down by a Government Agency known as Sector 7, headed up by one Agent Burns (John Cena). Pretty soon, Charlie comes to the realisation that her Bumblebee is not the only Transformer, and that there are others who may not be quite as friendly. Also starring John Ortiz and the voices of the Decepticons include Angela Bassett, Justin Theroux and Martin Short. The film cost US$102M to bring to the big screen and is released in the US this week too.

'MASTER Z : IP MAN LEGACY' (Rated M) - here this Chinese language martial arts action film is Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, the Hong Kong martial arts Choreographer and film Director, renowned as one of the most successful and influential figures in the world of Hong Kong action cinema. In this spin off from the popular 'Ip Man' film franchise, this film charts the journey of Cheung Tin Chi (Max Zhang) who following a defeat at the hands of Ip Man takes shelter within himself, licks his wounds and becomes a depressed recluse. While Tin Chi tries to stay out of trouble, he gets himself into a fight with a local American business kingpin Owen Davidson (Dave Bautista), the big boss behind a bustling city bar precinct. Tin Chi fights hard using his teachings and his experience in Wing Chun (a martial art concept-based traditional Southern Chinese Kung-fu style and a form of self-defence, which utilises both striking and grappling in close-range combat) and earns back the respect he had lost. Also starring Michelle Yeoh and Tony Jaa.

With four new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-