THE FAVOURITE: sex, intrigue and 3 great actresses in a misfire

Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman in THE FAVOURITE

Great performances by three great actresses, sex and political intrigue were not enough; the critically praised The Favourite, didn’t work for me. The Favourite is director Yorgos Lanthimos’ version of the reign of Queen Anne, the British monarch from 1705 to 1714. Anne (Olivia Colman), beleaguered by her chronic health problems and perhaps the most heartbreaking childbearing history ever, was easily manipulated by her childhood friend Sarah, Lady Churchill (Rachel Weisz), the wife of England’s greatest general. At some point, Sarah’s unfortunate relation Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives to help at the palace, and begins her own ruthless climb to supplant Sarah.

Colman (especially), Weisz and Stone are quite brilliant here. Colman captures Anne’s neediness, weakness and occasional capriciousness.

Lanthimos is a very witty filmmaker, and he specializes in absurdity, of which there are many touches in The Favourite. Of course, hereditary monarchy, which bestows absolute power upon even the most ill-equipped by the accident of birth, is inherently absurd.

With the exception of Anne’s sex life after the death of her husband, which is imagined (and could be true for all I know – there’s just no evidence for it), the story faithfully follows the arc of history.

I surmise that the problem here is that Lanthimos is too in love with his own wit, and, lingering over his own funny bits, lets the interest drain out of them. I liked his Greek indie Dogtooth, but not his more recent work, particularly The Lobster. And not The Favourite.

360: 11 characters plus 11 life choices equal 1 snoozer

Eleven (count ’em, eleven) main characters traipse through Paris, London, Bratislava and Denver and each faces choice that can change the direction of a life.  Unfortunately, we don’t care that much about any of the characters and their stories aren’t that compelling or even original.  It’s not a bad movie, but the story (stories) make it a snoozer.

360 is otherwise well-made by acclaimed director Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener) and well-acted by an international ensemble cast that includes Jude Law and Rachel Weisz (completely unrecognizable behind a full set of bangs).  The two most interesting characters are the father of a missing crime victim (Anthony Hopkins) and a convicted sex offender in a very fragile recovery (Ben Foster).  Foster (The Messenger, Rampart, 11:14) is one of my favorite actors, as is also Jemel Debbouze (Let It Rain, Angel-A, Amelie).  But even these actors can’t really punch up a story that isn’t there.

The Deep Blue Sea: a woman who loves too much

Simon Russell Beale and Rachel Weisz in THE DEEP BLUE SEA

In The Deep Blue Sea, an ordinary love triangle becomes a profound tragedy.   A woman (Rachel Weisz) leaves her affluent and prestigious older husband (Simon Russell Beale) for a younger man (Tom Hiddleston) who is more vital, but aimless, troubled and unreliable.  The younger man cannot match her love for him.

The fling is doomed.  The tragedy is that she knows it, but cannot help herself.  As with many addictions, her passion for him drives her to do what she knows is self-destructive.

The story is set is grim post-war London and director Terence Davies  vividly paints the period and place.

One magically evocative scene takes place in an underground station serving as a bomb shelter during the Blitz.  A man sings Molly Malone in a plaintive tenor, with his fellow Londoners joining at the chorus, as the camera slowly pans the train platform filled with people waiting out the raid.  In another scene, a pub is filled with singing patrons.   Everyone is having fun, sharing a moment of trivial conviviality, but Rachel Weisz is looking at her lover and having a moment of profound feeling.

Weisz is excellent, and all of her scenes with Beale are especially searing.  The Deep Blue Sea is well-crafted and deeply, deeply sad.

Page Eight: top rate spy movie on TV

PBS is featuring the excellent British spy drama Page Eight on this week’s Masterpiece Contemporary.  It’s top rate.

How do the British do this so well?  First, they cut out all of the explosions and chase scenes.  Then they get a high-brow screenwriter – here it is David Hare (The Reader, The Hours, Damage) – to write a character driven whodunit with plenty of paranoid political intrigue.  Finally, they deliver a first rate cast:  Bill Nighy, Michael Gambon, Rachel Weisz, Judy Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Ewen Bremner (Spud in Trainspotting) and Felicity Jones (starring in this week’s Like Crazy).

Page Eight is definitely worth a Tivo.  Look for it.

The Whistleblower: a potentially riveting story, clumsily told

The Whistleblower is a potentially riveting story, clumsily told.  It’s a paranoid thriller about human trafficking that was tolerated and even assisted by UN peacekeepers in Bosnia.  After seeing this movie, I was determined to debunk its claim of “inspired by real events”.  So I looked up the story and was surprised to learn that it is essentially true.  The problem is that the filmmaking caused me to think it was fictionalized.

Director Larysa Kondracki throws every Hollywood trope at the screen.   The photography is dark when the movie is supposed to be foreboding, and extra dark and jerky when things are supposed to be scary.   To keeps things dark and scary, Weisz uses a flashlight instead of flipping the light switch when entering an uninhabited room.  Several characters exist primarily to give exposition-filled speeches.  Various Eastern Europeans conveniently speak English when they encounter Rachel Weisz.   And Weisz’s character is the only person in Bosnia who drives a jeep around unaccompanied.

The Whistleblower is a vehicle for star Rachel Weisz and she does a good job.   David Straithern and Vanessa Redgrave contribute their customarily excellent performances.  Human trafficking is topical.  But this movie just isn’t up to its subject or its cast.