There’s a scarcity of decent gardening movies for the discerning green-thumbed moviegoer. Luckily, that’s all about to change in 2015 with the release of period drama, A Little Chaos. Directed by and starring Alan Rickman, the film revolves around his King Louis XIV, who hires Matthias Schoenaerts’ architect to design a spectacular garden for the Palace of Versailles. He in turn enlists Kate Winslet’s landscape designer to bring his vision to life… and possibly pop off with him to the shed for some nookie.
After its debut at this year’s TIFF, the general consensus hasn’t been favourable, but with Winslet and Rickman in their element (a period piece), it will no doubt make its way onto many folks’ must-see lists. At first glance, the trailer hints at the romance bubbling between the leading pair, with the lush, green landscapes providing a beauteous backdrop for their shenanigans.
You can decide for yourself whether watching Kate Winslet with a trowel and bucket is worth the admission (for this writer, that’s a resounding yes) when A Little Chaos opens on March 27th, 2015.
Madame Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) is an unlikely candidate for landscape architect of the still‐to-be-completed Palace of Versailles. She has little time for the classical, ordered designs of the man who hires her, the famous architect Le Nôtre (Matthias Schoenaerts). However, as she works on her creation, she finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Le Nôtre and forced to negotiate the perilous rivalries and intricate etiquette of the court of King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman). But Sabine is made of strong stuff; her honesty and compassion help her to overcome both the challenges of her newfound popularity, and an unspeakable tragedy from her past, to win the favour of the Sun King and the heart of Le Nôtre.