Kate Winslet stars as a revolutionary garden designer, Sabine de Barra, hired by renowned landscape architect André Le Nôtre (Matthias Schoenaerts) to help him construct King Louis XIV’s garden at Versailles in Alan Rickman’s gorgeous A Little Chaos.
Brought in to create unparalleled splendour, the gardens aren’t the only challenge the de Barra faces. She must battle court politics too, in the form of the straitlaced Le Nôtre and more worryingly, his wife (Helen McCrory) who suspects a romantic rival – as well as dealing with the whims and demands of an impatient king (played by Rickman himself).
With a sensationally witty script from screenwriter Alison Deehan, a dry, wry Rickman, and hilarious turn from Stanley Tucci as a court dandy, there is a great deal of humour on display.
But the film is more than just a romp, with an interesting emphasis on women and their internal life that’s given force and resonance by a superb performance from Winslet. Vastly enjoyable.
