The Princess of Montpensier

I'm a sucker for period pieces and this one delivered on all the parts that I love. Great costumes and art direction. Breathtaking scenery complete with castles set among hills ablaze in autumn colors. And oh, the fabrics!!! French is always beautiful to listen to, but this film was simply music to the ears. Gorgeous use of language. Thundering horses, clashing swords, unrequited love. Shamelessly romantic while showing how tough life was. War was miserable. No escape from the rain and cold. Women's lives sucked, even if rich. Catherine de'Medici was superb. The acting was good enough for the characters to be convincing which is what I care about. I was transported. That's what I want. Lots of films about Tudor England which is same time period, but few about Catholics and Huguenots. I'd see it again.

This period film needs some contextualization to be perceived by the public. Set at the end of the 16th century, the film portrays a romantic drama and a love triangle amidst the religious wars that opposed Catholics and Protestants, tearing France in half. To understand the film is, therefore, to know a little of this historical period. The film portrays quite well the internal struggles that the country experienced, the division of political power into religiously militant factions, the efforts of the regent queen Maria de Medici to try to save the Valois dynasty and the notorious Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

The main character is Marie De Mezières, very well played by the beautiful Mélanie Thierry, a capable actress, who did a very competent job here. Her character falls in love with her own cousin, the powerful Henri de Guise, who is played by Gaspard Ulliel, but ends up being forced to marry Prince Philippe De Montpensier, a military man who is played by Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, and leaves his wife in the care of the Count of Chabannes, (played by Lambert Wilson), an experienced nobleman who will act as a guardian and confidant, as he secretly falls in love with the young Marie. The four actors were able to do a great job, which made the film very enjoyable and appealing, allowing you to stay interesting until the end. This, in turn, may disappoint those who simply seek only a happy ending. The moral of all history, in fact, is the destructive character of passions and not just a "happy forever", pink and pleasant.

Technically, the film does not commit great sins. Cinematography did her role very well, the sets and costumes are excellent and automatically transported to the time and the post-production and editing work seems to have been done with competence. The soundtrack also fulfils, without deserving attention.

Some of the best things in this lusciously mounted historical ramble are the battle and fight sequences. They are exciting and convincing, as is the picture's milieu. Some of the relationships sporadically command interest,despite the central character consistently failing to provide any spark. The Duke of Anjou is the most watchable; a wonderfully slimy character, whose complicated duplicity and arrogance is highly entertaining. The actress who plays the princess may have superficially attractive qualities, but she has no personality. She's a sponge, who gives almost nothing and inspires only restlessness and tedium. Had she been at least interesting this may well have been an exciting film. After a while this viewer couldn't care less what happened to her. A shame because everything around her is designed to make for a stimulating story. It should be shorter, and it should be re-cast. The real princess was supposed to be a beauty. Mlle Thierry is quite good looking, but I suppose, at the time of going into production there wasn't an available attractive actress who is also vivacious, and/or interesting, and not too expensive. Heigh ho.

What I think was done very well in this film by Tavernier was the decors. Tavernier being a very gifted and talented director when faced with the challenge of recreating the middle ages succeeds like no other director in very recent memory. The exteriors, interiors and costumes are presented convincingly. He shows the nature without overdoing it. We are in the middle ages without being shown cliché after cliché.

There was one fact which may or may not be hard to swallow. I think there may be a divide amongst spectators in regards to the young cast, the exception being Lambert Wilson who in my opinion was exceptional as he was in the other film of this year Des Hommes et Des Dieux. While I could tolerate the young cast I didn't by no means fall in love with them, which could have affected my slight detachment from the action on screen. The weakest in my opinion, and I'm sure there will be some who disagree with me and they are right to do so, was the princess herself. I can't explain it but when she was on the screen I was almost at the point of irritation. Admittedly this is quite subjective and I didn't find her looks and full lips as my ideal of beauty, moreover I found her insatiable in her desires but I think I was suppose to believe she was passionate. If I didn't believe that the Princesse was a creature of passion but more-so a selfish materialist how could I fall in love with the story? Aside from minor nitpicking, I found the sparse battle scenes excellent! It was such a refreshing experience to see battles treated in this way. I almost wish there was more.

What I take from this film was a real master class in how to render a medieval world. As I predicted a director of Tavernier caliber would not get this wrong.

The Princess is sumptuously filmed, with a great eye for setting and costume. The eponymous princess is very well acted.

So why is there a slight air of disappointment when you get to the end. Partly it is because her husband and the pretty boy who would be her lover, are just a trifle wooden; the great weakness though is the fight scenes. They are filmed well but lack credibility. You can sense the rehearsals and guess what will happen next. The battle scenes are just confusing, not in the fog of war sense, but in having no explanation why a soldier would jump off an unwounded horse to fight on the ground. It may have looked exciting, marginally, but verged on the ridiculous.

That aside, the story bounds along quite well and will take your mind off the next banking crisis.