Director: Alan Rickman
Actors: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci
Writers: Alison Deegan, Alan Rickman, Jeremy Brock
Country: United Kingdom
Runtime: 116 min
Rating: 14A
Directors and actors have great potential to draw audiences to their films. The work selected as the closing film at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, A Little Chaos (2013), is directed by beloved actor Alan Rickman and stars the exceptionally talented actress Kate Winslet. An intriguing story also allows for great cinematic potential, so it is unfortunate that this film ends up equalling less than the sum of its parts. Instead of offering an illuminating look at the life of an undoubtedly fascinating individual, this movie is content to represent a typical love story.
A Little Chaos promises to tell the story of revolutionary landscape designer Sabine de Barra (Winslet), a woman chosen against all odds to construct the garden of King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman) at Versailles. De Barra has her own ideas about order and its place in gardening, prompting her to butt heads with designer André Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts), who holds the ideals of symmetry and scale above all else. As the two begin to come around to the other’s way of thinking and the garden begins to take shape, they develop a relationship beyond the professional. De Barra also has an effect on the king himself, as her spontaneous ways of design are integrated into her character and ways of life.
In addition to directing the film, Rickman also stars as King Louis XIV, and the latter role is much better suited to this talented individual. As the king, Rickman is subtle and funny, bringing his characteristic dry wit to the part and imbuing the film with moments of sweetness that it is easy to enjoy. As director, however, Rickman unfortunately does not excel. A film about the importance of freedom, spontaneity, and chaos should reflect these themes in its style, yet this work often feels contrived, its shots overly set up, and its relationships forced. That being said, the score that accompanies the film is lovely to listen to, as are the lavish period sets and costumes enjoyable to view.
Kate Winslet has proven herself able to present strong female characters and can thrive in a period part. However, her talent was not given full opportunity to shine in a role where she was actually given very little to do. A character who I was able to enjoy was Stanley Tucci’s satirical court dandy, whose over-the-top performance worked to mock the frivolities of the time. De Barra’s character could have had a similar effect, had she been allowed to stand up and display her might. Instead, she becomes a helpless female in a saccharine romance that could have been portrayed by just about anybody, and Winslet’s casting feels almost like an attempt to elevate the work.
I approached A Little Chaos hoping to be integrated into the story of a fascinating character. Perhaps my expectations should have been adjusted, as the fanciful took precedence over the serious in a way that I found disappointing. Overall the work is pleasant to look at, and there are moments of lightness and humor throughout, yet I found A Little Chaos a little too syrupy and fluffy to equal anything of substance.
Too bad the reviewer didn’t know that the character of de Barra is fictional
Hi! Although I am aware that de Barra is a fictional character, I realize that my wording may have been a bit ambiguous, and have altered it accordingly. By “historical” I was referring to the film’s nature as a period piece, not to the character as being real. Thank you for pointing this problem out, and for visiting The Arts Guild!