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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Friday 23 November 2018

A delicious, vicious acting feast in 'The Favourite'

By JAKE COYLE Churchill (Weisz), takes her
Associated Press on a chambermaid.
Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Fa- Our glimpses of Abigail's so-
vourite," a wicked blast of called "diminished circum-
nasty fun, gleefully dispens- stances" (including more
es with the usual decorum than one face-first pushes
of the period drama to free into the mud) are vivid
its powerhouse trio of ac- enough to earn our sym-
tresses — Olivia Colman, pathies and warrant her
Emma Stone and Rachel increasingly cold-blooded
Weisz — in a deliciously tactics for elevation. In one
performed romp through of many such transactional
the wigs and corsets of 18th exchanges, Abigail allows
century British aristocracy. a more high-born man into
That the acting — and that her chamber at night and
includes the spectacular asks if he's there to rape
supporting player Nicolas her or seduce her. "I'm a
Hoult, too, as Tory leader gentleman," he defensively
Robert Harley — should protests. "Rape then," she
be such a feast in Lanthi- matter-of-factly replies.
mos' latest is a surprise. His Through cunning, blackmail
earlier films ("The Lobster," This image released by Fox Searchlight Films shows Olivia Colman in a scene from the film "The and flattery, Abigail soon
''The Killing of a Sacred Favourite." has the ear of Queen Anne
Deer," ''Dogtooth") were Associated Press (Colman), not to mention
intentionally performed in or pitiless than their previ- a frigid and disquieting one. riage, we arrive in Queen her bed, a newfound status
a flat, emotionless manner ous films, nor does Lanthi- And it's not just because Anne's court with Abigail at odds with the queen's
that seldom rose above an mos (surprise, surprise) find Lanthimos favors anach- (Stone), a distant relative previous confidante and
awkward monotone. the customs of early 1700s ronism over historical ac- of the queen who, hav- lover, Sarah. Weisz's duch-
But the brisker "The Favou- English royals any less gro- curacy. (Both modern-day ing been lost by her father ess is using her position with
rite" is, to a degree, a de- tesque than the contem- slang and dance moves in a game of cards, has the queen to extend the
parture for Lanthimos who porary norms he's so sav- make cameos.) It's the slipped out of the nobility. war with France, and her
this time is working from a agely satirized before. pleasure of seeing three of She's desperate to restore methods of manipulation
script by Deborah Davis Yet "The Favourite," a kind the finest actresses weave her standing with a posi- are far more aggressively
and Tony McNamara in- of "All About Eve" translat- between one another in tion in the royal household, controlling. But they are
stead of his usual collabo- ed into a triangular power ever more absurd acts of and after initially being sent also more straightforward
rator, Efthimis Filippou. "The struggle in Queen Anne's seduction and betrayal. In to scrub floors, the Duch- than Abigail's hollow ap-
Favourite" is no less vicious court, is indeed a riot, albeit a rickety and crowded car- ess of Marlborough, Sarah peasements. q

On Netflix now, Frank Grillo

is looking for a fight

culture of that place in a
very different way. It's very
similar to what Anthony
Bourdain did, but instead
of food, it was fighters."
Grillo travels to places
such as Mexico, Thailand
and Senegal, locations
chosen based on his fa-
miliarity with those coun-
try's various fighting disci-
plines such as Muay Thai,
wrestling and boxing. "I
This image released by Netflix shows actor and self-described know these things well, so
fight enthusiast, Frank Grillo, right, in a scene from "FightWorld,"
a docu-series that follows Grillo as he goes globe-trotting to I could go there and im-
explore fighting styles and the cultures behind them. mediately embed myself,"
Associated Press he said.
Grillo also visited Israel,
By GARY GERARD HAMIL- lo, an actor and self-de- where citizens are re-
TON scribed "fight enthusiast," quired to join the army
Associated Press as he goes globe-trotting since the country is sur-
NEW YORK (AP) — Most to explore fighting styles rounded by hostile na-
travelers to new places and the cultures behind tions. He asked the mayor
usually aren't looking for a them. of Jerusalem to define
fight. Frank Grillo definitely "I immerse myself in certain Israelis in one word. "He
is. fight cultures" said Grillo. said 'fight' because that's
"Fightworld," a new Netflix "And through the eyes of in their in their DNA, that's
docu-series, follows Gril- the fighters, we explore the in their blood."q