Full of swordplay, galloping horses and court intrigue, “The Princess of Montpensier” sounds like an old-fashioned sort of costume picture.
But director Bertrand Tavernier has more up his sleeve than another look at ye olde tymes. Tavernier, a film historian of great breadth as well as a film
maker with some excellent titles to his credit (“Round Midnight,” “Coup de Torchon”), is too wised-up to fall in love with the costumes and castles; he supplies a dash of vinegar in the brew.
For instance, in a painfully mortifying scene, he shows how a young royal bride is observed by family and “medical” authorities in her marriage chamber on the first night with her husband, the better to confirm that she is a virgin, of course.
The bride in question is the title character, also known as Marie. As played by Melanie Thierry, she is an overmatched player in a much larger political game. In 16th-century France, conflict between Catholics and Protestants results in much bloodshed and forms the backdrop for Marie’s personal woes.
The problem is, she doesn’t want to merely submit and remain loyal to the husband (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet) she doesn’t love. Forced into the union, she still dreams of the dashing Henri (Gaspard Ulliel, of “Hannibal Rising”), the duke she enjoyed a youthful dalliance with.
Her husband is the jealous sort, and packs her off to be tutored by the film’s best character, the Count de Chabannes (chiseled Lambert Wilson, recently seen in “Of Gods and Men”).
Chabannes is the character most likely to cross over into “The Three Musketeers,” and, of course, he is also swayed by Marie’s nubile charms.
We may suspect his nobility is as doomed as Marie’s ambitions to become educated and independent-minded, but Tavernier keeps these characters in motion through some juicy (and well-mounted) turns of plot.
Tavernier is also vigorous when it comes to the battle scenes, even if the movie has a jaundiced view of why all these people are running around doing their stupid fighting. The landscapes are as handsome as the people.
In the end, we realize that Marie isn’t the only pawn in the game. Even if they have the advantages, the men, too, are really only pieces on the giant board, a decidedly unheroic conclusion for an old-fashioned genre.
“The Princess of Montpensier”
This tale of court intrigue and warfare in 16th-century France would seem to be an old- fashioned tale, but veteran director Bertrand Tavernier takes a jaundiced view of things in this well-mounted film. Melanie Thierry stars as a princess unhappily married, the first political move among many. In French, with English subtitles.
Rated: Not rated; probably R for nudity, violence
Showing: Seven Gables
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