Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis describes “The Favourite” as “more accessible” than the previous films he’s made with Yorgos Lanthimos. But at the same time there are still “dark undertones, because these are the themes [Lanthimos] is interested in. So the concern in the editing was to make that transition” from comedy to discomfort with relative ease. Watch our exclusive video interview with Mavropsaridis above.
SEE Tony McNamara Interview: ‘The Favourite’
This Fox Searchlight release finds a frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupying the throne while her loyal advisor, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), handles the day-to-day governance. But when Sarah’s cousin, Abigail (Emma Stone), becomes a palace servant, the two spar for the monarch’s attentions. “The Favourite” earned 10 Oscar bids, including one for Mavropsaridis; it’s tied with “Roma” as the nominations leader.
Mavropsaridis is no stranger to Lanthimos’s bizarre style, having previously cut the director’s similarly strange “Kinetta” (2005), “Dogtooth” (2009), “Alps” (2011), “The Lobster” (2015), and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” (2017). But in some ways, “The Favourite” was a different animal. Because it starts with light, ribald comedy and ends in darkness, the veteran editor wanted to make the transition “fluid.”
SEE Fiona Crombie Interview: ‘The Favourite’
Rather than make a straightforward historical drama, Mavropsaridis and Lanthimos wanted to create a film about “how three women experience love.” Because “there is a darker side to our love affairs,” the tricky tonal balance felt more natural.
This is Mavropsaridis’s first Oscar nomination. He recently won the ACE Eddie Award for his work on the film and was previously nominated there for “The Lobster” (2015). He is also nominated at the BAFTAs and contended at the Critics’ Choice Awards for “The Favourite.”
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