25 must-see films playing at this year’s AFI Fest

The Favourite

What’s the story?: Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest looks at the court of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and the battle of wills between two women (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) determined to become her “favorite.”

I’m a sucker for historical dramas, particularly of the English court, and wouldn’t you know it but AFI Fest is giving us two of them! The Favourite is the newest film from Yorgos Lanthimos, who you might recall gave us a series of bizarre dramas – Dogtooth, The Lobster, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. As I tell my friends, Lanthimos is a director who makes films I should love, and yet not one has been fully embraced by me. I hope that changes with The Favourite which, according to everyone I’ve talked to, is apparently the best thing in the world.

It certainly should be, considering the trio of actresses Lanthimos has assembled. Olivia Colman is set to transition from playing Queen Anne in this to playing Queen Elizabeth on Netflix’s The Crown. She’s joined by Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, two Oscar-winning actresses who look perfectly suited for Lanthimos’ mix of acerbic wit and bitterness. The trailer showcases both Weisz and Stone vying for Queen Anne’s affections, with many praising the film’s blending of historical social commentary and deconstruction of feminism during the time period.