Lorna Irvine reviews 'a witty, rather lovely film'.
The toast of Glasgow Film Festival on the red carpet on February 21st, Alan Rickman's follow-up feature to 1997's The Winter Guest could easily be considered a vanity project as he co-writes, stars and directs in this. But, thankfully, that's not the case here.
Rickman takes a back seat as King Louis XIV, a bored monarch who choreographs excitement for his family.
When he commissions Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts), his architect, to create a grand garden for the Palace of Versailles, Le Notre picks the design plans of troubled but wise Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet).
This is Winslet's film all the way--coping with the loss of her husband and little girl, as well as the 'chaos' of being a woman in a male-dominated society: not the 'natural order' of things in 1682. She radiates sorrow, intelligence and restraint in every frame.
There is also an excellent all-star cast: from Stanley Tucci's flamboyant, campy Philippe d'Orleans to Helen McCrory as the manipulative jealous Madame Le Notre, who tries to usurp de Barra's plans.
Ellen Kuras' cinematography is breathtaking, like stepping into a Vermeer painting with sumptuous detail. But it's the pivotal scene between Winslet and Rickman in the garden when the pair bond over loneliness that is most affecting.
It is the most effective film of its genre since The Madness of King George. A witty, rather lovely film with philosophy and the failings and foibles of people at its core.
Dir: Alan Rickman, UK, 2014, 1hr 56mins
www.glasgowfilm.org/festival
A Little Chaos - Main Trailer: http://youtu.be/6ihzIGDITqE
.jpg)
RSS