A Little Chaos

A Little Chaos is a charming story of an intelligent woman rising to the company of a king (more specifically King Louis XIV of France) on pure talent and charisma. The film is written so brilliantly by Alison Deegan, giving Kate Winslet’s character – Sabine De Barra – such masterful comebacks to the men in power, the kind of quick wit the majority of the audience can only dream of imagining upon reflection once the moment has passed and it is too late. The goodness in her is inescapable, in her language but also in the perfect gentleness that only such an iconic British actress like Winslet can achieve.

Alan Rickman, another figure who’s cause for great pride in the British film industry, not only directed this film but stars as its main comic relief. With an air of superiority and the velvet, dramatically slow voice of the infamous Professor Snape, the king is charmed without being a serious love interest. It is his respect that is Sabine’s biggest achievement. The humour comes from an exquisite combination of Rickman’s impeccable comic timing, his very English, unamused facial expressions and his lavish wardrobe.

This film presents a fresh take on the period drama, if one can call it that. Although it contains a dramatic sub-story, it lacks a dramatic, danger-filled, scandalous atmosphere. Instead of the clichéd dramatisations focusing on the 17^th century – deaths, miscarriages and mistresses – A Little Chaos covers the light and fresh beauty of this period. One tends to forget the beauty created by these kings and great men, the stunning architecture and gardens they lived in and left as our legacy. History tends to focus more on the wars, the deaths, the affairs because drama sells. Of course there is some of this in A Little Chaos, how can there not be? Without it this would not be the film it is, capturing the essence of humanity; instead it would become more like a high budget episode of Ground Force with Alan Titchmarsh dressed in lavish, impractical costumes.

There is love, though it is not doomed or forbidden, rather smiled upon and allowed to flourish. There is art and beauty in this film, and its key is that it reminds the audience of the spectacular things humans are capable of creating.        

Cassia Morrice

A Little Chaos is released nationwide on 17^th April 2015.

Watch the trailer for A Little Chaos here: