A Little Chaos

There are plenty of historical liberties taken with A Little Chaos, something the fictional costume drama admits at the outset.

But the anachronisms and embellishments aren’t the only issues with this handsomely mounted yet dramatically shallow look inside the design of the famous botanical gardens at the Palace of Versailles during the 17th century.

The palace was a passion project of King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman), whose affinity for lush gardens made that a priority. So as the film opens, the king commissions landscape architect Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenarts) to design an elaborate series of plantings, amphitheaters and water fixtures as his first major building project at the palace.

In his search for an assistant, Le Notre hires Sabine (Kate Winslet), a working-class contractor with a nonconformist style that includes innovative irrigation techniques. So as Sabine earns the king’s favor for her work and gradually integrates into aristocratic society, she also becomes interested in Le Notre on a personal level, risking a scandalous affair that reveals tragic circumstances from Sabine’s past.

Rickman also directed, and he demonstrates some visual flair with a stylish period re-creation that includes lavish sets and costumes. But he can’t save the film from turning into a stuffy period piece (not to mention a work of sometimes eye-rolling speculation with regard to its primary true-life characters).

The main culprit is a screenplay that gets lost in the weeds. It explores gender roles and socioeconomic class structure at the time, although it remains pretty slow going until some melodramatic twists liven things up in the second half. So while Winslet and Schoenarts offer strong performances, the overall lack of sizzle stifles the emotional impact.

Mostly quiet and contemplative, the film respects the gardening craft and the combination of creativity and manual labor required to turn vision into reality. Yet it’s a lot more fun to stroll through an arboretum yourself than watch others do it.

A Little Chaos treats gardens as works of art and landscapers as their artists, so it might generate interest from horticulture aficionados who won’t mind that the film needs a lighter touch, not to mention a lot more chaos.

Rated R, 112 minutes.