Set in France in 1682, Kate Winslet
plays a talented landscape designer, who is tasked with building a garden at
Versailles for King Louis XIV. Struggling to overcome a great loss in her life,
Winslet’s Sabine is closed off to the ideas of chaos in the world, even as
those around the king believe that inviting a woman of low birth into the gardens is madness and destined for disaster.
Sabine is given the royal assignment
by the handsome Andre Le Notre, played by Matthias Schoenaerts, a man who is
trapped in a thankless marriage to a woman who believes he is beneath her.
Sabine is thrust into the midst of the court of the king but jealousy threatens
her standing, her ability to complete the garden, and a burgeoning romance with
Andre.
Despite playing the king, Alan Rickman directs but does not
step in front of the camera quite as much as you would expect, instead letting
Winslet and Schoenaerts take centre stage in this period romance. It’s a shame
as the love story barely simmers while Winslet and Rickman’s few scenes
together actually start to sizzle with something a little more exciting.
The romance feels as though it has
been played out a thousand times before and the less said about Sabine’s tragic
back story, the better. However, A Little Chaos comes to life, particularly
towards the end in a pair of scenes, one delivering some heart warming female
bonding and the other offering a rousing climax.
In amongst all this though, is a lot
of talk of gardening. There is little danger and far too little conflict.
Winslet seems subdued, leaving it up to Stanley Tucci to steal his too-few
scenes and Rickman to swan in and save the film from becoming utterly boring.
It’s a stately, occasionally quite beautiful film but unless you are a fan of
gardening or mostly chaste romances, you will yearn for something more.
Overall, A Little Chaos could have
done with a lot more conflict, danger, excitement and yes... chaos.
Watch the trailer:
