directed by Patrice Chereau
Produced by Claude Berri
Wrtiten by Daniele Thompson & Patrice Chereau
Distributed by Miramax
Running Time: 145 minutes
Available on DVD/VHS
Cast
Isabelle Adjani - Margaret of Valois, "Queen Margot"
Daniel Auteuil - Henri de Bourbon, future Henry IV
Jean-Hugues Anglade - Charles IX
Vincent Pérez - La Môle
Virna Lisi - Catherine de' Medici
Dominique Blanc - Henriette de Nevers
Pascal Greggory - Henri, Duke of Anjou, later Henry III
Miguel Bosé - Henry I, Duke of Guise
Asia Argento - Charlotte de Sauve
Jean-Claude Brialy - Admiral de Coligny
Thomas Kretschmann - Nançay
Synopsis: It is 1572. Margot is married off to Henri of Navarre as a chance for domestic reconciliation during the late 16th century reign of King Charles IX, a time when Catholics are vying for political control of France with the French Protestants, the Huguenots. Catherine de Medici also schemes to bring about the notorious St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre when thousands of Protestants are slaughtered. The marriage goes forward but Margot, who does not love Henri, begins a passionate affair with the soldier La Môle, also a Protestant from a well-to-do family. Murders by poisoning follow, as court intrigues multiply and Queen Catherine's villainous plotting to place her son the Duke of Anjou on the throne threatens the lives of La Môle, Margot and Henri of Navarre. A book with pages painted with arsenic is intended for Henri but gets King Charles poisoned by accident. Henri escapes to Navarre and sends La Môle to fetch Margot, but Guise apprehends him. La Môle is beheaded in the Bastille before Margot can save him, and King Charles finally dies. Margot escapes carrying La Môle's embalmed head as Anjou is proclaimed King of France as Henry III.
My thoughts: After reading C.W. Gortner's wonderful book THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI, I was taken with his portrait of Marguerite de Valois. Since I had never seen it before, I decided to watch the 1994 film, Queen Margot, which starred French/Algerian actress Isabelle Adjani in the title role. I'm not sure that I can say that I unequivocably enjoyed this film. Although the film is over two hours long, Miramax asked the director to cut 16 minutes from the original running time and I think it does a disservice to the film. There are scenes missing that I'm sure would explain the story better. For example, after marrying Margot to Henri of Navarre, all of a sudden Catherine de Medici decides to kill all the Protestants that have attended the wedding, which makes no sense. Why the abrupt turn around? Is she worried that her son Charles IX is becoming too influenced by the leader of the Protestants Coligny?
And Margot too does an abrupt turnaround. At first, she loathes her husband,but then in the next scene she's warning him to get out of Paris because he might be killed. WTF? The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre is particularly gruesome, and I'm not easily shockable. The Valois family in this film are sadistic, perverted, and ambitious, no more so than Catherine de Medici. She's costumed almost as a female Nosferatu, with her forehead shaved and pasty white skin. The Italian actress Virna Lisi is marvelous as the slightly creepy mama in this film. If this family wer the Mafia, she would be the Don. The film emphasizes that her affection for the future monarch Henri III is slightly incestuous. Pascal Gregory plays the Duke of Anjou as slightly off his rocker. Poor Margot, the way that her brothers treat her in the film is absolutely appalling. She's a pawn and a plaything, not really human to them.
Isabelle Adjani plays Margot as a passionate, and willful Princess, not easily conforming to her royal role. After her husband interrupts her rendezvous with her lover the Duke of Guise, Margot goes out roaming the streets of Paris, masked, trolling for a one night stand to satisfy her. She meets La Mole, played by Vincent Perez. La Mole is a protestant soldier who has come to Paris for the wedding of Henri of Navarre. They have a frantic coupling against a wall, and Margot thinks she will never see her lover again. Somehow during the massacre he makes his way to the Louvre. The film (and book) portrays their story as a great love affair, but I didn't see it. La Mole claims that he saw the loneliness of her soul. When? When they were doing it against a wall and she had a mask on? I didn't buy it.
I was much more intrigued by her relationship with Henri of Navarre which starts out as strictly an arrangement that was not going to be consummated but turns into a genuine friendship. Daniel Auteil as Henri of Navarre has a difficult role, he's almost widow dressing in this film. Catherine de Medici calls him 'the peasant' and Auteil's performance emphasizes this characteriest. He's earthy and swarthy, much shorter than the Valois Princes who all have long stringy hair for the most part. He's not really called on to do much more than to react to what is happening around him. Jean-Hugues Anglade portrays Charles IX as a neurotic weakling, totally under the control of his mother, but he has flashes of independence when he supports Henri of Navarre against her. His Queen is completely cut out of the film, although we are treated to a sweet scene where he takes Henri to visit his mistress and child.
The costumes are fabulous, the viewer gets a real sense of the lack of privacy and the carnival atmosphere that must have surrounded the royal court. I'm not sure how much the film cost, but all of the money is up there on the screen.
Verdict: If you are interested in seeing a historical film that's a little more gritty and a little less Merchant & Ivory than Queen Margot is a film that you must see, particularly if you are interested in this time period. I would suggest that Showtime after they do The Borgias, that they should take a look at the Valois. This family is almost the flip side of The Tudors. They could start the series with the marriage of Henri II to Catherine and then end with Henri of Navarre becoming King of France.
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