Not exactly a biopic of Margaret of Valois - the daughter of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, sister of King Charles IX and Henry III of France, wife of Henry III of Navarre (later Henry IV of France), queen of Navarre and then France -, Patrice Chéreau's epic adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' historical novel is faithful to the author's quixotic fantasy of court intrigue, carnal passion, and above all, the contempt for patrician duplicity and self-serving barbarity.
The showpiece is a re-enactment of St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572, amid the French War of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots (Reformed/Calvinist Protestants), which is preceded by the holy matrimony between Margot (Adjani) and Henri de Bourbon ( Auteuil), King of Navarre an Huguenot, arranged by queen mother Catherine (Lisi) and Charles IX (Anglade) as an overture to mend the fence between the two warring parties, but on the sly, Catherine, siding with the Catholic Duke of Guise (Bosé), one of Margot's lovers, has an axe to grind, taking advantage of having invited legions of Protestants to attend the wedding, including Admiral de Coligny (Brialy), the Huguenot leader, she orders an assassination and later, the massacre that Decimates thousands of Protestants. Henri is railroaded into converting to Catholicism,and remains in Paris with Margot and the royal family.
Margot isn't taken by Henri, at least in the beginning, her own salacious, even incestuous reputation gives her a bad name among Henri's cronies. On their wedding night, she forbids Henri to come to her boudoir, and after rebuffed by Guise, she satisfies her libido with a rando on the street, who turns out to be La Môle (Perez), a Protestant nobleman, who later is saved by Margot during the massacre, and their passion will continue to burn ablaze. When La Môle is assigned by the Huguenots the task to rescue both Henri from the Catholic clutches, it is a strange love triangle, but each one acts with absolute candor and consideration, it is so Gallic, even in the 16th century, that no moral obligation weighs them down, you can see jealousy in the two men's eyes, especially a sloe-eyed Perez, yet,is it only natural for a man to hate the lover of his wife, or the husband of his lover? Not in here, both La Môle and Henri understand what they mean to Margot and respect it, and Margot also honestly handles the delicate situation without any dissemblance, affection even grows between her and Henri.
For my money, the biggest takeaway from Chéreau's adaptation is his honoring of an unalloyed form of love that transcends genders and denominations, it is a liminal feeling of warmth, of appreciation, of kindness, which writs large between Charles and Henri, their agape blossoms under the most peculiar circumstances, but it is so earnest that they might pinch themselves to believe it. It is out of Charles' sheer altruism that Henri could eventually get out of harm's way, after the former hears his death knell peal. Au fond, Charles saves Henri's life with his own, and as a king notably for hypochondria, he doesn't regret it. The same is La Môle's devotion to Margot, he would die for her without blinking an eye, and she keeps her promise however macabre it seems. In a story peopled with bloodletting, divination, poisoning and hog-hunting,Chéreau is perceptive enough to know what can connect with the modern audience, the raw, intense human affection.
Reckoning with the extravagant scale of a exquisite period drama, QUEEN MARGOT is sumptuous in a low-key fashion, set side by side with Sofia Coppola's MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006), those richest people in the world seem to live like troglodytes, and the exquisitely mocked-up costumes and their adornments reflect a more practical luster under the tenebrism lighting, save for spotty grandeur viewed from a distance, Chéreau's style is more intimate, impulsive, contained if sometimes feel haphazard, and not afraid of looking gruesome.
Most players are far on the wrong side of their historical characters's ages, thankfully it doesn't cause too much distraction, and Adjani, edging 40 at then, still holds together her relatively youthful look festooned by finery and jewelry, and plays Margot, who is supposed to be half of her age, with a doe-eyed fascination, her porcelaneous delicacy is on the way of maturing into something more undefined and incongruous, like a seasoned doll, Adjani seems self-conscious, uncertain, and maintains a facade of inscrutability to cover her insecurity, but that lends some credence to Margot's oscillation and consternation, the story ends when Margot joins Henri officially in Navarre, as his royal spouse, it is a pity that Adjani doesn't have the opportunity to play Margo at a latter age.
There are other heavy players involved, Lisi, who won Best Actress in Cannes for her supporting turn, is imposingly affecting to behold when Catherine is punished by her karmic action, her lofty stature has an impeccable backbone; Auteuil's Henri is murkier as a historical character and errs on the side of naivety; Perez is a gorgeous himbo who is equipped with intensity but no modulation; Greggory makes King Henry III look like a deplorable weasel and Dominique Blanc is a sharp-eyed Henriette de Nevers, Margot's confidante. The crème de la crème among them is Anglade, who might be considered as a co-lead, his King Charles IX is pure tragedy, he goes for broke and wrings out every drop of the bloody sweat to corroborate that it is impossible for a monarch to give up the ghost with a natural cause,his part feels draggy but Anglade enlivens it with éclat and pathos that is at a premium.
referential entries: Benoît Jacquot's FAREWELL, MY QUEEN (2012, 6.4/10); Sofia Coppola's MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006, 7.0/10)
English Title: Queen Margot
Original Title: La Reine Margot
Year: 1994
Country: France, Italy, Germany
Language: French, Italian
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Director: Patrice Chéreau
Screenwriters: Patrice Chéreau, Danièle Thompson
based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas
Music: Goran Bregovic
Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Editing: François Gédigier, Hélène Viard
Cast:
Isabelle Adjani
Jean-Hugues Anglade
Daniel Auteuil
Vincent Perez
Virna Lisi
Dominique Blanc
Pascal Greggory
Miguel Bosé
Asia Argento
Jean-Claude Brialy
Julien Rassam
Thomas Kretschmann
Bruno Todeschini
Ulrich Wildgruber
Jean-Philippe Écoffey
Barbet Schroeder
Johan Leysen
Jean-Marc Stehlé
Emmanuel Salinger
Albano Guaetta
Bernard Verley
Otto Tausig
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Rating: 7.5/10
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