Queen Anne of England (Olivia Colman) has no idea that her confidante and secret lover, Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and Sarah’s cousin Abigail (Emma Stone) are locked in battle for the influential position of court Favourite…
Paul says...
Upon seeing the original poster for The Favourite, I immediately, and rightfully, assumed that I was going to love this one. It has three of the best actresses around and it’s a testament to their work here that all three are up for acting Oscars too. While Colman may be considered the lead and is up for the Lead Actress award, all three contribute multi-layered and nuanced performances. Colman helps us see through Queen Anne’s needy, unhinged cantankerousness to see the sad, vulnerable woman underneath. We begin by booing at Weisz’s semi-abusive, obdurate Churchill and cheering on Stone’s plucky, kindly and level-headed Abigail. But as time goes on, we see Abigail’s heart turn to darkness as her influence increases and Churchill’s resourcefulness becomes admirable.
This is complex character-driven stuff, made all the more accessible due to a hilarious script that taps into the audience’s desire to laugh at the unfortunate. Anne’s pretend faint when she can’t make a decision in parliament, her hysterical attempt at suicide compounded by Churchill’s indifference to it, and the scene in which Churchill furiously lunges books at Abigail. All of these help us to see these characters as the ridiculous, lonely creatures that they are.
Indeed, the entire royal court is a complete mess. Masses of magnificently-dressed cretins racing ducks or throwing oranges at each other naked just to pass the time. No wonder Queen Anne allegedly turned to Sarah Churchill for sexual pleasure.
This is a hugely enjoyable film and so kicks off our viewing of this year’s nominees on a positive note. My only complaint is that Nicholas Hoult doesn’t get enough recognition as a conniving member of parliament- he’s totally unrecognisable and proves himself a versatile actor.
Mark: 10/10
Doug says...
This is a great film. Paul’s pretty much nailed everything I’d want to say about the quality of story, character development, and acting. I’d just add that I really did think Nicholas Hoult did some great work - and it’s lovely to see him move past his Skins-era acting and develop his craft.
Olivia Colman though. What an absolute legend. If she ends up taking the Best Actress Oscar, it’ll be nothing less than a tribute to what hard work and slogging away in the acting world can get you. We’ve seen her in bit-roles across Green Wing, Peep Show and The Mitchell & Webb Show. She’s recently begun to dominate British TV in things like Broadchurch and The Thirteenth Tale - and now she’s broken into America, with a leading role in a huge, momentous film, and a yet-to-be-seen turn in The Crown. She’s brilliant here, with not a single misstep, and moments like the faux-faint in Parliament just show what superb timing, skill and comedy she’s capable of.
I love that it’s a film about three women too - the men are peripheral - and the Oscar nominations rightfully reflect this. But what I also enjoyed was the deliberately strange, hallucinatory style in which the film progresses. Fish-eye lenses compete with dioramas. Footsteps ring out much louder than in reality. The actualities of the Stuart court (duck racing, orange throwing etc) fit neatly into a world made deliberately odd to us. Director Yorgos Lanthimos has thrown everything he can at this, while still making it a cohesive, compelling story.
And lastly - I love the de-romanticisation. For example, while travelling to the Palace Emma Stone’s character locks eyes with a handsome man opposite in the coach. One is already imagining a Jane Austen-style romance, when he suddenly shoves his hands down his trousers and begins furiously masturbating while staring at her. A film that never fails to surprise.
Mark: 9/10
BlacKkKlansman plot intro
The first black police officer in Colorado Springs, Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) and his colleague Flip (Adam Driver) go undercover in the KKK to investigate potential terrorist attacks.
Paul says...
What BlacKkKlansman does so well is it answers the question that snivelling Trump supporters have been throwing out there- why do only Black Lives Matter? What about White Lives- surely they matter too? This film juxtaposes Black Pride gatherings with White Pride ones with hard-hitting poignancy. A particularly memorable sequence is when a Black gathering involves an activist played by Harry Belafonte, giving his horrifying witness testimony of the mob lynching of Jesse Washington in 1916. This is interspersed with images of the KKK watching the 1915 epic silent movie, Birth of a Nation, a notoriously racist glorification of white supremacy which is often blamed for provoking the lynching. The KKK members whoop and cheer at this film as if they’re at a football match. The meaning is that, while “Black Pride” involves an ethnic minority rising up to establish their importance in the world, “White Pride” is simply a bunch of insecure white men struggling to give up their position at the pinnacle of societal power.
As an exploration of racism, and an illustration of a story that is half-true (some bits have been added in because, well, we need a story), I think BlacKkKlansman works pretty well. It’s remarkable that David Duke, Grand Wizard of the KKK and, quite frankly, an utter lunatic, was taken in by it all. Director Spike Lee has no qualms in showing him to be the lonely idiot that he is.
BlacKkKlansman does fall slightly short in some minor aspects. The jokes more often than not miss the mark. It’s also painfully obvious where the history ends and the story begins because things become noticeably over-the-top. This is particularly obvious in a KKK member’s wife who is so fanatical that she makes Bellatrix Lestrange look like Doris Day. Finally, the film ends with footage of the Unite the Right rallies in Charlotte in 2017. Whilst it drives home the point of the film, its violence feels incongruous and, perhaps, a little gratuitous compared to the relative timidity of the rest of the film.
Nonetheless, BlacKkKlansman boasts a fascinating story, some intense moments, and a really catchy quasi-'70s soundtrack.
Mark: 7/10
Doug says...
Most recent years at the Oscars feature among their Best Picture nominees, at least one film centring on racism or the historical treatment of black people. Think Get Out, Fences, Hidden Figures, Selma, 12 Years a Slave. This year we have two, with Green Book and BlacKkKlansman. The problem with films focusing on a specific segment of the population is that they can sometimes get shooed into award ceremonies simply because of their weighty subject matter. In my opinion, BlacKkKlansman is one of these.
It’s an interesting story, a black policeman decides to join the KKK through stealth and foil their plans. It’s true too (which makes it even more Oscar-fodder). It also boasts some fine performances - John David Washington as the central Detective Ron Stallworth, Laura Harrier as his love interest and passionate campaigner Patrice, and Ashlie Atkinson as the racist-to-the-core Connie Kendrickson who all rise to the challenge of their roles. Particular mention must go to Kendrickson who finds a few moments of depth in what is otherwise a monotonously hysterical role.
But where the film lost me is it gets quite dull in the middle and then director Spike Lee tacks on an ending comprised of real news footage of Trump speaking and neo-Nazis marching. The film seems to be telling a narrative, which then gets caught up in itself and ends up basically saying ‘racism is bad, everyone’. It even ends up dedicating the whole film to a white woman who got killed by a racist protestor at a civil rights march. Tragic, yes. Related to the film - no. And while using real footage in Schindler’s List made the impact much more savage, here it just confuses. With films like Get Out using subtlety and intelligence to make their points through unexpected methods, this film - although stylish - failed to make its point and ended up wasting valuable elements of its real story.
Mark: 4/10
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