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A Little Chaos

  • 20142014
  • RR
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
23K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts in A Little Chaos (2014)
Sabine is chosen to build one of the main gardens at King Louis XIV's new palace at Versailles. In her new position of power, she challenges gender and class barriers while also becoming professionally and romantically entangled with the court's renowned landscape artist Andre Le Notre.
Play trailer2:31
4 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Romance

Two talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.Two talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.Two talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.

IMDb RATING
6.4/10
23K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Alan Rickman
  • Writers
    • Jeremy Brock(screenplay)
    • Alison Deegan
    • Alan Rickman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Kate Winslet
    • Alan Rickman
    • Stanley Tucci
Top credits
  • Director
    • Alan Rickman
  • Writers
    • Jeremy Brock(screenplay)
    • Alison Deegan
    • Alan Rickman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Kate Winslet
    • Alan Rickman
    • Stanley Tucci
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 95User reviews
    • 134Critic reviews
    • 51Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos4

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:31
    Official Trailer
    Final Trailer
    Trailer 1:38
    Final Trailer
    Side
    Interview 5:26
    Side
    Side
    Interview 3:42
    Side

    Photos167

    Kate Winslet in A Little Chaos (2014)
    Stanley Tucci in A Little Chaos (2014)
    Kate Winslet in A Little Chaos (2014)
    Alan Rickman in A Little Chaos (2014)
    Matthias Schoenaerts in A Little Chaos (2014)
    Alan Rickman in A Little Chaos (2014)
    Kate Winslet in A Little Chaos (2014)
    Suzanne Shaw at an event for A Little Chaos (2014)
    Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, and Helen McCrory at an event for A Little Chaos (2014)
    Helen McCrory at an event for A Little Chaos (2014)
    Damian Lewis at an event for A Little Chaos (2014)
    Kate Winslet at an event for A Little Chaos (2014)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kate Winslet
    Kate Winslet
    • Sabine De Barraas Sabine De Barra
    Alan Rickman
    Alan Rickman
    • King Louis XIVas King Louis XIV
    Stanley Tucci
    Stanley Tucci
    • Philippe, Duc d'Orleansas Philippe, Duc d'Orleans
    Matthias Schoenaerts
    Matthias Schoenaerts
    • André Le Notreas André Le Notre
    Thomas Allam
    • Louis Alexanderas Louis Alexander
    Hope Hancock
    • Francoise Marieas Francoise Marie
    Isabella Steinbarth
    Isabella Steinbarth
    • Louise Francoiseas Louise Francoise
    Hal Hewetson
    • Philippeas Philippe
    Carolina Valdés
    • Queen Marie Thereseas Queen Marie Therese
    Eleanor Montgomery
    • Royal Nurseas Royal Nurse
    Danny Webb
    Danny Webb
    • Claude Moulinas Claude Moulin
    Cathy Belton
    Cathy Belton
    • Louiseas Louise
    Steven Waddington
    Steven Waddington
    • Thierry Durasas Thierry Duras
    Adrian Scarborough
    Adrian Scarborough
    • Daniel Le Vielleas Daniel Le Vielle
    Adrian Schiller
    Adrian Schiller
    • Jean Risseas Jean Risse
    Ben Fox
    Ben Fox
    • Monsieur Mauveas Monsieur Mauve
    Morgan Watkins
    Morgan Watkins
    • Lucas Luc
    Angus Wright
    Angus Wright
    • Sualemas Sualem
    • Director
      • Alan Rickman
    • Writers
      • Jeremy Brock(screenplay)
      • Alison Deegan
      • Alan Rickman(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Famed builder Le Notre is tasked with building an ethereal palace for King Louis XIV (Rickman) that transcends beauty. Le Notre hires Sabine de Barra (Winslet) to design and construct the outdoor ballroom, and is soon captivated by her beauty. Sabine is equally enthralled by Le Notre though she is struggling to deal with her past. Through the trials of building the garden the two artists come together. —MacGroovyJM
    • 17th century
    • versailles
    • garden
    • king louis xiv
    • landscape designer
    • 57 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Passion is in our nature.
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for some sexuality and brief nudity
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Andre Le Notre designed the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
    • Goofs
      When Sabine De Barra fell into the water and was carried away by the force of the water, she traveled a good distance downstream. When she went to get out of the water, it was just two arm lengths to reach the ladder.
    • Quotes

      King Louis XIV: And what protection can the gardener afford this rose from the harsh elements of change?

      Sabine De Barra: Patience, care, and a little warmth from the sun are our best hope your Majesty.

    • Connections
      Featured in Projector: The Water Diviner/A Little Chaos (2015)

    User reviews95

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    A fantasy, but a lovely one
    A Little Chaos (2014) is a British film co-written, starring, and directed by Alan Rickman. Rickman plays the French King Louis XIV, Matthias Schoenaerts plays the landscape architect André Le Notre, and Kate Winslet plays Sabine De Barra. Madame Like Le Notre, De Barra is also a landscape architect. She's hired by Le Notre to help with the magnificent gardens at Versailles. However, this isn't a movie about gardens or gardening. (In fact, Winslet says that, unlike her character, she's not really a gardener.)

    The film is really about human emotions--love, hate, happiness, and sadness. The gardens are just the plot device that brings together all of the main characters in one place at one time.

    Matthias Schoenaerts is excellent in this movie, as he was in "Far from the Madding Crowd." However, as Farmer Oak he had to be intelligent but grounded in the necessities of his situation. In "A Little Chaos," he has to have superior intelligence that soars with creative ideas and solutions.

    Rickman is a fine actor. His perpetual sneer in the Harry Potter movies has been replaced almost by benevolence in this film. From what we know of the historical "Sun King," he wasn't exactly the kindly, gentle monarch that is portrayed in "A Little Chaos."

    Kate Winslet is a wonderful actor, and she looks right for the role. Of course, she's beautiful, but her beauty is distinct, intelligent, and individual--she doesn't look like just another cookie-cutter movie star.

    The plot is very tightly constricted--almost all of it takes place at the court in Versailles, which is a huge, but claustrophobic, setting. Everyone intrigues with everyone else, assignations are made, vows are made and betrayed, and no one can trust anyone.

    What's interesting to me is that I was caught up in this atmosphere. I wanted to see De Barra complete her project. I couldn't understand why the king wouldn't put more money into the gardens at Versailles.

    When I thought about it, I realized there isn't a single poor, miserable, hungry person shown in the film. The only non-elite characters we see are interchangeable servants, grooms, and garden assistants. They may not have a happy life, but at least they were paid and fed.

    We know historically that the French poor suffered terrible hardships during this time. It was with taxes torn from them that Louis XIV paid for his gardens at Versailles. However, as was probably true in real life in 17th Century France, the nobles were protected and insulated from the people and their suffering. That's the way this film is structured--we see the politics at court, and we see the garden moving forward, but we don't see the squalor of ordinary life. There's no remedy for this. Your only choice as a viewer is to take it or leave it. You can't change it.

    We saw this movie at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. It will work somewhat better on the large screen, but it will work well enough on DVD. I recommend it, despite its drawbacks.

    As I write this review, the movie has a horrendous 6.3 rating. It's interesting that women gave it a 6.7, while men gave it a 6.0. Nothing about the film suggested to me that it would be much more popular among woman than among men.

    Although this isn't a superb movie, I don't think a rating of 6.3 does justice to it. I think it's worth seeing, and I would recommend it.
    helpful•84
    14
    • Red-125
    • Jul 3, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 26, 2015 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • BBC (United Kingdom)
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Версальський роман
    • Filming locations
      • Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • BBC Films
      • K. JAM Media
      • Lionsgate UK
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $558,173
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $181,791
      • Jun 28, 2015
    • Gross worldwide
      • $10,084,623
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 57 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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