Directed by: Stephen Williams
Written by: Stefani Robinson
Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton
Chevalier is a great film and an impactful story worth watching! However, I am concerned about whether this film was made to educate its audience or to capitalize on the popularity of the Bridgerton series.
Chevalier is a biographical film about Joseph Bologne. Joseph was known to best the rest in fencing, music composing, and was a master violinist. This is showcased in the film’s opening when Joseph plays on stage at Mozart’s concert. What begins as the two accompanying each other ends in a subtle battle of skill in which Joseph wins. The remainder of the film centers around Joseph and how he came to be acquainted with Marie Antoinette (Boynton), Marie-Madeleine Guimard (Minnie Driver), Marc Rene (Marton Csokas), and Marie- Josephine de Montalembert (Weaving).
Every actor in this film really delivers. I am not keen on drama films centered around this time period. Despite this, each actor managed to make me feel engaged in their characters. Some of the best performances came from cast that weren’t top billed. This includes Ronke Adekoluejo who plays Nanon. Nanon is Joseph’s mother who is a slave and separated from her child earlier on. This separation occurs because George Bologne believes that his son is a prodigy of the arts and will excel beyond what he would in his care. For most of the film, Nanon is not present, but when she does take the screen, it almost makes me wish the movie was about her.
Additionally, Sian Clifford plays Madame De Genlis. This character is tasked with assisting Joseph in creating an opera. While Sian plays a supporting character, there is a scene in which the story dramatically shifts, and the tone of Chevalier goes from playful to vengeful. Sian is tasked with making this scene both impactful and heart-wrenching. Sian is not only successful in this scene but also left a big impression on me.
It is also necessary to mention that the three leads of this film do an amazing job. Kelvin Harrison plays a very cocky Joseph, and it almost left me unengaged. However, once the film reached its conclusion, I could tell Kelvin really played the character in certain ways on purpose to take the audience on a journey. I really appreciate that and Lucy Boynton did the same with her take on Marie Antoinette. Lucy’s portrayal of Marie is my favorite on-screen portrayal of the Queen.
The actor who really lets us eat cake is Samara Weaving. Samara plays Marie Josephine who is sought after to be the lead singer in Joseph’s Opera. Marie is probably put through the most in this film and has quite a few character arcs. Each of these moments are acted beautifully and powerfully, which leads to some of my issues with the film.
Chevalier has a strong start, but as the movie ends it feels less a biography of Joseph Bologne and more a dramatization of a few months of his life. It is made apparent that Joseph is the child of a slave and slave owner. Additionally, that he is whisked away to both unburden his father but also to make something of himself. However, at no point is there actual development of his life. What was the benefit of being Chevalier? What struggles did he face in France that he wouldn’t have faced being elsewhere? A lot of the movie spent time just stating “This place is not kind to people like him” but never really went beyond that.
Furthermore, Joseph’s connection to Marie-Josephine becomes almost the entire point of the movie. This makes any accomplishments Joseph earns seem less valuable, because he spends so much of the film pursuing Marie. There’s maybe one scene of Joseph fencing and two scenes of him playing the violin. The rest of the movie just felt like drama that is meant to give purpose to the third act.
This type of storytelling felt out of place when much more time could have been spent showing how Joseph faired on a day to day or, If and how his impact changed France. It is obvious that he did have an impact, but the movie ends up only explaining so by putting words on a black screen at the end.
While there could have been much more story and time spent on the titular Chevalier, the film is an enjoyable watch and a compelling historical drama. With its great casting and performances in mind, I give Chevalier 3 out of 5 stars.
