Film Reviews

The Princess of Montpensier

• Rating:
• Director: Bertrand Tavernier
• Starring: Gaspard Ulliel
• Details: France/Germany / 139mins (TBC).

There's something about Marie. This adaptation of a 17th century story, is Shakespearean in the tellingwith its secret glancesbetween star-crossed lovers but caring one way or another is tough as …Montpensier gets bogged down in mealy dialogue.
France, 1567, and the country is torn in two as war rages between the Catholics and the Huguenots. During a typically bloody skirmish, Comte de Chabannes (Wilson) accidently stabs a pregnant woman and immediately renounces his violence ways. Scorned by both sides, he's taken in by his former student, Prince de Montpensier (Leprince-Rinquet) who is being forced into a marriage of convenience to the beautiful Marie (Thierry). She, however, is in love with the uncouth de Guise (Ulliel), but she also casts a spell over de Chabannes, employed to be her tutor while her husband is on the battlefield, and Duke d'Anjou (Raphael Personazz).
The title suggests the story belongs to Marie but, as the synopsis above shows, it starts out being one man's story before bleeding into Marie's and then branches out to include the men around her. This style stops …Montpensier settling down into its plot, which turns out to be not a love triangle, but a love rectangular. Once the story is set up it can't follow through for numerous reasons.
The love of Marie's life, and the root of all problems here, is de Guise – but he's off screen for the most part and when the two aren't on screen there just isn't passion to be had; all the heaving bosoms or sneaky trysts in cellars aren't going to fix it. When the actors are called upon to gaze into each other's eyes, there's no longing - they say 'I love you' but there is no meaning behind the words. The only character on show with any depth is the Prince.He didn't want to marry Marie but he's willing to try to make it work. When he's angry at her suitors it's unclear whether it's out of pride, fear of being a cuckold or genuine love for Marie.
Tavernier works overtime to show that Marie is worth all the heartache and the duels and the whatnot. The director paints her as smart and spirited but uneducated in this chauvinistic world where women are commodities to be admired and nothing more. However, she just isn't interesting enough as a character and when the film relies on her being the be all and end all for these men the film suffers.
The sad fact isthere's nothing about Marie.

Review by Gavin Burke