B+
Genre: Historical: European, Not a Book, Romance
A Little Chaos is sort of a mess (not in a chaotic way, alas – it’s actually quite staid) but it’s a very pretty mess. Fans of historicals will love the look of the movie and the acting from Alan Rickman (who also directs) and Kate Winslet. There a couple of amazing scenes that are A+ quality and a romance that, alas, doesn’t take off, and some very pretty costumes and scenery.
Kate Winslet plays Sabine, a landscaper who gets a contract to design an outdoor ballroom for King Louis XIV. The ballroom is a historical fact, but the rest of the story and many of the characters are fictional. Her boss is Andre Le Notre, who values order in landscaping above all else, whereas Sabine likes a more natural landscape. The plot consists of Sabine trying to finish the ballroom despite sabotage from a budding romance with Andre, problems with Andre’s wife, and the sex and class divisions that make her uncomfortable at court. She also struggles with mourning the loss of her husband and daughter. The pace is slow, as is par for the course for a period drama. Seriously directors, stuff happened back in the day. It’s not necessary to have everything move at a glacial pace.
Truth to be told, I barely noticed the glacial pace or lack of much plot because damn this movie is beautiful. As far as I can tell, Rickman’s directing style was to hire a bunch of cinematographers and set and costume designers and then get out of the way. It’s a simply stunning movie. I’ve never been able to appreciate the aesthetics of Versailles because in my mind it has always represented the inequities between rich and poor. Through Sabine’s eyes, I could appreciate the gardens purely as art. The natural landscapes are lush and lovely and mysterious, the interiors are either cluttered and dim (Sabine’s home) or gleaming (the palace) and the clothes! From the sumptuous to the utilitarian, these clothes are a delight to behold:
The other thing Rickman does well is hire fantastic actors. In the best scenes, the camera just points at Winslet or Helen McCrory (she plays Andre’s wife) and lets them do their thing. There’s a scene in which The King and Sabine meet in a case of mistaken identity, which is delightful (cliché, but delightful). Rickman and Winslet are two actors who have always stolen every scene they are in, and if the scene is a little self-indulgent on Rickman’s part, well, it’s a lovely moment to indulge in.
Alas, the romance is the flattest part of the story. I fell madly in love with actor Matthias Schoenarts in Far From the Madding Crowd, where he played a quiet man of deep emotion. In this movie, I fell abruptly in love with him with one line (23 minutes and 14 seconds in) but fell out of love when I realized that was really it for his character. Instead of coming across as a deeply repressed man of buried passions, the character comes of as a blank screen onto which Sabine can project her emotions and desires. He seems not so much repressed as asleep, and he never changes very much. There’s very little chemistry between the two actors and it’s hard to picture what their happy ending will consist of. As romances go, I’d have to give this no more than a C.
Where the movie really shines is in its totally unexpected portrayal of a community of women and how they come together through shared grief. Sabine is mourning the death of a child. There are various moments in which she sees the child, who then vanishes. These scenes are pretty cliché – but there’s another scene in which Sabine falls asleep at her table and she hears a voice call, “Mama!” and snaps awake, saying groggily, “I’m coming!” only to realize that she has nowhere she needs to be. That moment, simple as it was shattering, and much more effective than the visions.
Later, Sabine meets a group of women at court who bring her into their inner sanctum, and at first Sabine is a little shocked and contemptuous of how shallow and hedonistic they are. Then they ask if she has children, and very gently they get her to talk, just a little, about her loss, and they share stories of their own losses. One of them says that the King does not allow the women to speak of their dead children at Versailles, because Versailles is supposed to know only happiness. “But we speak of them here,” she says. “No one may banish a child from his mother’s heart.”
This scene is so powerful, so poignant yet utterly unsentimental and quietly played, that I considered giving the movie an A just for this one scene and it’s less subtle but quite satisfying subsequent scene between The King and Sabine, in which Sabine defends the King’s mistress. Because I want to grade the movie as a whole, and the romance is so flat, I’m giving the movie a B+, but I do feel that that one little scene makes it completely worth the cost of at least a rental.
There are further joys. There’s Helen McCrory looking smashing as ever and throwing barbs around left and right. “So kind,” murmurs her lover, as she hands him a coin. “So quick,” she retorts. Stanley Tucci does his very best Stanley thing. It’s adorable. The acting and the visuals are sublime, and I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I just wish it had been a little more chaotic and that the romance had been more full of spark.
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I’ve been wondering about this one ever since my mother and I visited England in May and a lovely volunteer at Ham House in Surrey told us about it. Apparently, the house stood in as a French chateau for the film. It was a gorgeous home, and it sounds like the movie is likewise. Redbox, here I come!
This movie was such a disappointment. It was really boring.
I convinced a friend of mine to go watch it with me and SHE FELL ASLEEP. And she’s a fan of this type of movies!
Yes, it’s pretty. But it feels like a waste of everything.
I saw this on the airplane home from our vacation, and I watched most of the pretty scenes without the audio until the visuals were so compelling I had to listen in – that, and Kate Winslet and Jennifer Ehle were on the screen at the same time, and then Alan Rickman appeared on screen too, so I really had no choice in the matter.
My opinion of the portion I watched: it was eye candy without much behind it, and the story doesn’t really hang around in your mind after it’s done. But Ehle, Rickman, and Winslet were all on screen at the same time, and I’d watch that any time.
I have to confess, my first thought when I scrolled to the pic of Winslet and Rickman was…Marianne and Colonel Brandon really did have an HEA. 😉
I want to see this (I enjoy glacial films) but we have to talk about the brown gown Winslet is wearing in the first picture. There is no way, NO WAY she could enter the King’s presence in that. Also, I’m pretty sure it’s the wrong time period. Judging by the other photos, this seems like a freak mistake. Did someone do an accidental switch?
UH I wanted to see this so badly, hopefully my local library will get it in so I can see the eye candy then happily return it without the guilt of having spent money for it.
I agree totally with this review. I was definitely disappointed with the relationship between Sabine and Andre. It started out promising then fizzled. It didn’t really provide an explanation as to why a man who had been cheated on repeatedly (and clearly hurt by it) and yet chose to stay involved with his wife would suddenly change for everything for Sabine. I just didn’t buy into their relationship. It felt like he had unfinished business with his wife
Andre doesn’t look bored in that shot, he looks like he is hoping no one will realise it was him that just dropped very smelly trump (just to introduce a scatalogical note).
Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, *and* Alan Rickman? I’m in. I’d watch that trio read the phone book. (Do people still have phone books?)
I saw this on a plane trip last month as well. I’d never even heard of it before I found it on the list of available movies, but… Kate Winslet. Alan Rickman. Gardens. I’m there. The plot is slow-moving because there really isn’t all that much of it, and it definitely has credibility issues, but the film is so totally gorgeous to look at and the characters so intriguing that I really didn’t care how slowly it moved. There was enough about building the garden to make me happy too. And there were those wonderful, unexpected moments, like the scene with the women at court, that were so surprising and poignant. I’m actually more of a fan of action movies than historical costume dramas, but this one kept me entertained.
Rented this last night after reading your review. Let me begin by saying I’m a total sucker for any and all costume dramas, and this was RIGHT up my alley. Yes, it was slow, and yes, the romance could have been more satisfying, but overall I really liked the movie. The music, the COSTUMES, Matthias – total swoonfest. I also thought the idea of being a landscape architect was incredibly romantic. I spend my entire day in front of a computer – how nice it would be to spend it outside, among plans and pears, instead! Thanks for posting this – made for a great night in!
Beautiful movie filled with unexpected comic irony – i.e. the king practicing his speech before his children and the pear garden dialogue. Very droll – I watched it three times to catch the full effect of the acting .
Yum yum!