For a man who was nearly lost to history, forcibly erased both during his time and long after his death, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, managed to make a big mark. Good luck choosing which of his many achievements to acknowledge first: his prodigious talent for fencing, his exploits as colonel of the first black regiment in Europe, his incredible skill as a virtuoso violinist, the list goes on and on. In Stephen Williams's "Chevalier," it's Bologne's impressive work as a composer, so talented he was often called the "black Mozart—an all the more amusing moniker considering they were both contemporaries—that forms the center of a alternately raucous music and serious biopic.
Born in the French "overseas department" of Guadeloupe in 1745, Bologne's life was complicated from the start: he was born the son of a wealthy landowner and an enslaved teenage girl who served as his own maid, and although his father recognized and even supported he, the younger Bologne was always doomed to be a stranger no matter where he was. As Williams' film begins, only the director's second after his 1995 debut "Soul Survivor" and an enviable string of TV directing jobs, our on-screen Joseph is busy. fighting back his outsider status with insane talent and a sassy attitude to match.
Director: Stephen Williams
Writer: Stefani Robinson
Stars: Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Minnie Driver
He is also, rather hilariously, beating a shocked Mozart, as the confident young composer jumps onstage during a concert to play alongside the revered composer. Needless to say, he doesn't come off as Mozart, who almost rolls his eyes at the color of Joseph's skin, then dismisses him as a "dark stranger" wait, and Joseph's performance is so captivating and wild that it leaves with an even bigger head and a pack of new fans. The film opens during a "prelude to the revolution," as a title card tells us, though that's a nod both to what's happening in France in the decades leading up to the French Revolution and what's happening inside the Joseph himself, a bona fide genius who was born at decidedly the wrong time in history.
While "Chevalier," written by "Atlanta" and "What We Do in the Shadows" writer Stefani Robinson, briefly goes back in time to witness the arrival of young Joseph in France, most of the film chronicles a period of roughly eighteen months in which Joseph became a knight to Queen Marie Antoinette (a noted Lucy Boynton), threw his hat into the ring to conduct the Paris Opera, wrote an opera (now lost) to test his salt, and fell in love disastrously from a woman he could never be with (Samara Weaving).
Bologna's real life could fill three movies and still have plenty left over, so while it makes sense that this initially spirited offering would try to fit its existence into a single movie-ready package, "Chevalier" is starting to feel smaller and smaller. how it progresses For a life as big, and a performance as big as the one Harrison deftly presents here, feels nothing short of diminishing. Despite the film's bold opening, "Chevalier" soon turns to more traditional genre tropes, reducing Joseph Bologne to the kind of man you might find in any kind of biopic, hardly the original and unmatched presence he clearly was. in life and art. Perhaps that's a compliment, that even our boldest revolutionaries may one day slip into a crowd-pleasing historical epic that requires no prior knowledge of its subjects to appreciate and enjoy.
And "Chevalier," despite its ever-evolving storytelling, is enjoyable and worth appreciating. When Williams and Robinson loosen the strings and allow the film to feel as original and free as Bologne was at the height of his creative powers, a battle! with Mozart! with dueling violins! —and refuse to be beholden to the usual narrative rhythms and expectations, “Chevalier” soars. So does Harrison, whose cocky version of the young star is funny, tough, and completely justified. It all looks and sounds wonderful too, as lush and luxurious as one would expect to see in a film about a generational talent set in late 18th century France, thanks to sweeping cinematography by Jess Hall, detailed sets by Karen Murphy, confectionery costumes by Oliver Garcia, and the appropriately epic score by Kris Bowers.
Watch Chevalier 2022 Movie Trailer
Comments
Post a Comment