We can’t wait to see Olivia Colman play Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, and a new trailer released yesterday (July 9) gives us an idea what that might look like.
If we squint very hard, that is. The trailer is actually for The Favourite, and Olivia isn’t playing that queen, but Queen Anne, who ruled England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702 to 1707.
It’s also the latest feature from filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, who has a reputation for blackly comic films, having previously directed the distinctly bizarre flick The Lobster. That film saw a recently dumped man (Colin Farrell) dispatched to a hotel where single people are given 45 days to find a romantic partner or risk being turned into animals. Olivia played the hotel manager.
Sure enough, Yorgos’s latest endeavour is not exactly faithful to history. The Favourite shows Olivia-as-Anne in true Queen of Hearts mode, surrounded by real-life courtiers such as friend and confidante Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and new protégée Lady Abigail Masham (Emma Stone), as she barks orders, races lobsters and snacks on expensive pineapples.
According to the film’s synopsis, the Queen’s ill health and mercurial temper mean Sarah is forced to govern the country while it’s at war with France. Abigail sees her chance to fill in as the Queen’s companion, and is determined not to let “woman, man, politics or rabbit” stand in her way.
X-Men‘s Nicholas Hoult, Sherlock‘s Mark Gatiss and Taylor Swift‘s latest squeeze Joe Alwyn also play real-life historical figures. See if you can spot them under their enormous 18th century wigs:
Okay, so it’s hardly The Crown, but it lets us imagine how Olivia’s playful side might come out in her depiction of the current queen.
The Favourite opens in theaters on November 23, 2018.
Do you like the look of it?