A romantic drama following Sabine (Kate Winslet), a talented landscape designer, who is building a garden at Versailles for King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman). Sabine struggles with class barriers as she becomes romantically entangled with the court's renowned landscape artist, Andrè Le Nà´tre (Matthias Schoenaerts). Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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Reunited for the first time since Sense and Sensibility, Alan Rickman directs Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet in the romantic drama A Little Chaos.The year is 1682. Sabine De Barra (Ms. Winslet), a strong-willed and talented landscape designer, fulfils her chosen vocation in the gardens and countryside of France. One day, an unexpected invitation comes: Sabine is in the running for an assignment at the court of King Louis XIV (Mr. Rickman). Upon meeting with her, the Kings renowned landscape artist André Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) is initially disturbed by Sabines distinctive eye and forward-thinking nature, but eventually chooses Sabine to build one of the main gardens at The Sun Kings new Palace of Versailles. Under pressure of time and as she charts her own course, Le Notre comes to recognize the value of a little chaos in Sabines process.While pushing herself and her workers to complete the Rockwork Grove as an outdoor ballroom, Sabine negotiates the perilous rivalries and intricate etiquette of the court. As she challenges gender and class barriers. Sabine forges a surprising connection with the King himself, and wins a vote of confidence from the Kings brother, Philippe (Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci). As she gradually comes to terms with a tragedy in her past, Sabines professional and personal interactions with André bring out honesty, compassion, and creativity in both of them.A Lionsgate UK & BBC Films presentation in association with LipSync Productions of a Potboiler/The Bureau Production. Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, and Stanley Tucci. A Little Chaos. Helen McCrory, Steven Waddington, Jennifer Ehle. Casting, Nina Gold, Robert Sterne. Make-up & Hair Designer, Ivana Primorac. Costume Designer, Joan Bergin. Music composed by Peter Gregson. Editor, Nicolas Gaster. Production Designer, James Merifield. Director of Photography, Ellen Kuras, ASC. Co-Producer, Richard Hewitt. Executive Producers, Zygi Kamasa, Guy Avshalom, Nick Manzi, Christine Langan, Ray Cooper, Richard Wolfe, Norman Merry. Produced by Gail Egan, Andrea Calderwood, Bertrand Faivre. Screenplay by Alison Deegan, Alan Rickman, Jeremy Brock. Directed by Alan Rickman. A Focus World Release.

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davidgee from United Kingdom
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Belying its title, this is a charmingly well-ordered 'chamber-piece' movie about the creation of Louis XIV's spectacular grounds at Versailles. Landscape architect Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) recruits - a surprise in 17th-century society - a woman to design one of the garden's water features. Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) is a widow; Andre is married to a heartless slut (Helen McCrory); so we can expect something more than potting to be happening in the potting shed before the gardens are finished! There's a lovely scene when Sabine finds King Louis (Alan Rickman) alone and unwigged on a bench and mistakes him for the chief gardener.

I worried that A LITTLE CHAOS might be like one of Peter Greenaway's movies, a triumph of style over substance, but it's got almost as much substance as an Oscar Wilde adaptation. There's no attempt to "Frenchify" the language in the style of 'Allo 'Allo: everyone speaks accentless English. Alan Rickman (who also directed) plays the king in the grand style of Lady Bracknell, and Winslet is perfectly cast as a woman of substance and quiet wisdom. Belgium's Monsieur Schoenaerts is having a busy year and although this is role is similar to the one he had in SUITE FRANCAISE he seems more comfortable in it this time. Stanley Tucci and Jennifer Ehle play the top dogs/bitches in His Majesty's court and I'd like to have seen more of them both.

OK this movie is a bit overdone and artificial (like the gardens at Versailles), but the cast are believable and lovable, and the story delivers comedy, romance and intrigue. If you liked THE DUCHESS, you will love this.

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(hakansay@gmail.com) from Ankara, Turkey
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Went to the movie with low expectations, thanks to some of the comments having written here. What I met was something spectacular. Very cleverly organized script had become a a most beautifully shot film in the hands of Alan Rickman. A strongly developing romance, beautifully acted scenes from the very beginning to the end, obviously a result of the touches by the director. Rickman should direct more films. Very passionately recommended to those who love details in words, minimalism in acting. To me, it is a collection piece. Also, The star of the film, Kate Winslet, once again, shows why she is of a great talent. Every moment she is on the screen, her powerful acting capacity flows like a very big river that nothing can possibly stop.

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Red-125 from Upstate New York
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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 structure --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.

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Siobhan Lydon from Ireland
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It was the perfect film to take my elderly mother to, given that we both enjoy gardening holidays in France.

The story is uncomplicated - in a time when gardens were the fashion statement of the rich, the French king wanted a statement to silence the globe. Matthias Schoenaerts' character is given this task which is mammoth given the bogland to be used and he hires Kate Winslet's character for one element of the garden. They fancy each other.

Alan Rickman has a few key scenes but Stanley Tucci steals the show entirely. Costumes and setting are lavish, as they should be.

I cannot comment on the historical accuracy but my immediate thought was 'How does she garden with the corset on when I wear nothing under my t-shirt?' As a gardener, nothing is ever done (weeding, composting, planting etc.) but this project did appear to have a somewhat finite end, which is a fantasy in itself.

More historical dramas with a gardening theme I say!

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ndrhardy from United States
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This is not the first of Alan Rickman's work that I have seen and once again, I was not disappointed. It seems to me that movies like this are over-looked and taken for granted by audiences who's attention spans are not strong enough to appreciate the subtleties and nuances in films such as this. It isn't full of action, you have to pay attention to the details. I love how easily I was swept into the emotions of the characters. This was well acted and is the first film I've seen in awhile that made me feel like I was watching a piece of well-crafted artwork. I laughed and cried and I don't do that during just any old movie :)

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Victoria Weisfeld from United States
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OK, OK, the "professional" reviews are tepid, but for my taste, A Little Chaos is a perfect summertime movie. No heavy themes, impeccable acting (Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Stanley Tucci, and Alan Rickman), beautiful scenery, and gorgeous late 17th c. costumes. It's one of those movies where you can sink into the cushioned theater seats, breathe the welcome air-conditioning, and let the film wash over you. No heavy mental or emotional lifting required. The premise is that on a ridiculously short timetable and budget, France's Louis XIV, the Sun King, has decreed that paradisaical gardens be created to expand the grounds at his Versailles palace. Garden design has been placed in the reliable hands of André Le Nôtre (Schoenaerts), a proponent of order in the landscape. His plans include an elaborate display of fountains. But he needs help. After interviewing numerous candidates, he chooses the wildly fictional Madame Sabine de Barra (Winslet) to create the garden's ballroom, for the reason that she will introduce new ideas (a shaky premise, there)—and, as the title suggests, a little chaos. The two of them are attracted to each other, but have vastly different temperaments and face a fairly predictable set of obstacles. Critics who pooh-pooh the film as a failed feminist fable miss its many pleasures: the absurd courtiers, Stanley Tucci as the king's gay brother, the interplay among the women when they're alone behind closed doors, scenery to drool over, the joy of bringing dirt and greenery to beautiful life, and, especially, Alan Rickman playing Louis XIV—"a character worthy of his imperious, reptilian charisma," as Stephen Holden said in the New York Times. Rickman directed and helped write the film, too. "Acting should be about risky projects as much as it can be about entertaining," he told Joe Neumaier at the New York Daily News. "The risk is what makes you want to do it." Bringing to life characters from another culture and long-past century in a revisionist history confection is almost as risky as thinking you can make water dance. The real Salle de Bal (the Bosquet des Rocailles) at Versailles was inaugurated in 1685 and is the gardens' only surviving cascade. If you don't go with inflated expectations you won't be disappointed. You will be well pleased.

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Harry T. Yung (harry_tk_yung@yahoo.com) from Hong Kong
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By just looking at the cast, I shouldn't be surprised that this movie is good. But I was surprised. It was more than good. It was mesmerizing.

I am compelled to get something out of the way first. The period piece is set at a period of Louis XIV when France was enjoying power and prosperity and the polarization of rich and poor had not yet developed to the point, a century later, of catastrophic meltdown. Still, to enjoy this movie, one needs to avoid adopting a judgmental stance of condemning the outrageous extravagance of royalty, but focus on the appreciation of beauty and art and the admiration of the protagonist, a female architect by the name of Sabine De Barra, so brilliantly portrayed by Kate Winslet.

Without belaboring the details, I'll just report that the simple plot surrounds Louis XIV's (Alan Rickman) wish to have created something of an esthetic perfection in the form of gardens in the lavish Palace of Versailles. One crucial component is an open-air, circular ball room that is complete with auditorium seats and running fountains. Against all odds, Sabine wins this job by impressing the King's trusted master-builder Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) with her design that subscribes to the theory of having a little chaos (hence the title) rather than complete, rigid order. While Le Notre disagrees with her theory, he has the vision and capacity to accept into the project "a voice different from his own". Development of romance is predictable, as are dramatic conflicts and crisis.

Winslet is pitch-perfect as a woman with talent and passion for her profession that was all but male-dominated. There is also the more subtle, but fully palpable side of vulnerability which Winslet projects almost effortlessly. Belgian actor Schoenaerts would have impressed you, if you have seen him in "Rust and bone" (2012) providing solid support to Marion Cotillard in her impeccable performance as a women who just lost her legs in an accident. In addition to directing, Rickman also played a key character, giving the reason that since set construction for this movie was so expensive, saving the salaries of one key character would help to ease the budget. Whether you consider that jest or not, his portrayal of Louise XIV is immensely successful in shaping this character into someone almost lovable. Stanley Tucci does the usual Stanley Tucci thing, lighting up the screen with his flamboyant portrayal of a charismatic nobleman. In a small role of one of the woman at the King's court is one who is among my top favorite, Jennifer Ehle. While she has produced an abundance of excellent work over the years, she'll always be remembered from "Possession" (2002) as Christabel LaMotte who, incidentally, is in the same predicament as Sabine De Barra, a talented woman in a male-dominated society.

Cinematography, art direction and music all contribute to making this movie such a pleasure to watch.

If I have one criticism, it would be the somewhat contriving mysterious background of Sabine who is known to be a widow but with very little other information. It is obvious though that she is trying very hard to block certain excruciatingly painful memories, with little success. It is also obvious that this baggage was becoming an almost insurmountable obstacle in the development of a more intimate relationship between her and La Notre. The mystery, eventually when revealed, is neither earth-shattering nor emotionally compelling. The way it is dragged out like a suspense mystery is quite unnecessary, to say the least.

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CleveMan66 from United States
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I have a problem with movies that play fast and loose with history, unless they make it clear that the story is fictional. If a movie purports to be historically accurate, many people are going to believe that what they're seeing actually happened, whether it did or not. On the other hand, using a specific historical time and place for background while telling a story that isn't meant to be taken literally can yield a pretty good movie. Many people have enjoyed Monty Python and Mel Brooks comedies over the years, but I doubt any of them took what they saw as literal history. And I don't think anyone really believes Abe Lincoln was a vampire hunter. Even Quentin Terantino's "Inglourious Basterds" (2009) isn't likely to muddy the historical waters, unless I underestimate how many people think Adolf Hitler was assassinated in a theater. So, I appreciated it when the opening title card of "A Little Chaos" (R, 1:57) informed the audience that the only thing guaranteed to be true in the movie is the end result. I felt free to sit back and enjoy a fictional story set against a historical background. I just wish I enjoyed it more.

There really was a King of France named Louis XIV who built an impressive palace in the Paris suburb of Versailles and surrounded it with spectacular gardens which included an outdoor ballroom, but he didn't look like Hans Gruber from "Die Hard" and young Rose from "Titanic" was not involved. Nevertheless, Alan Rickman (who also wrote and directed this film) plays The Sun King and Kate Winslet plays a fictional woman named Sabine De Barra, who the movie shows receiving a commission to design and build the outdoor ballroom portion of the gardens at Versailles. Of course, she's working for a male landscape artist named André Le Nôtre (the real life royal landscaper), played by Matthias Schoenaerts.

Rather than just showing the building of the gardens as it actually happened, the film adds interest and intrigue to the true story with the creation of Winslet's character. Sabine is definitely a woman in a man's world, and one who stirs things up in other ways as well. Competing against several men, she wins the competition to create the "Bosquet of the Salle de Bal", partly due to her slightly unorthodox plans. She respects order, but also likes being creative and different, adding a little chaos, you might say.

But that phrase applies to more than just her ideas for shrubbery, tiered landscapes and fountains with sea shells. You see, Le Nôtre is married, but I think we all know what happens when landscapers who are passionate about their gardening spend a lot of time working together in 17th century France! André's is a loveless marriage to Madame Françoise Le Nôtre (Helen McCrory) and one that involves much infidelity (at least on her part), but if André were also to cheat, he should at least have the decency to pick someone of a higher social standing. Even the possibility of this particular gardener and gardenette hook-up is enough to throw Madame into a jealous rage, one that holds the potential to ruin lives and cool outdoor ballrooms.

The problem with "A Little Chaos" is that it's a little boring. Portraying what it might have been like for a woman to put together an important part of the world-famous Versailles gardens is an intriguing premise, but isn't enough for a feature film. The love triangle adds some drama and we get some amusement by way of Alan Rickman's flamboyant courtier and a clever case of mistaken identity between Louis and Sabine, but all that only goes so far. The beautiful scenery and impressive costumes add to the film's appeal, but I can only bring myself to give this movie the mildest of recommendations. The script is well-written, but the story, the performances and the direction lack energy. I generally liked "A Little Chaos". I just wish I could say I liked it more (or as much as the other member of our staff who saw this movie with me and will likely be annoyed that I didn't give it a better grade). "B-"

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Vicki Hopkins (vicki@vickihopkins.com)
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Unfortunately, A Little Chaos has limited distribution. It was only showing in one theater where I live in downtown. I could have taken public transit and walked five blocks to get to the venue but kept putting it off. Good that I did, because A Little Chaos is currently streaming on Amazon with a run time of 1:53 minutes.

It's an interesting and unique story about a woman named Sabine, who has a gift for gardening. Yes, she has a quaint little backyard of flowers and trees, but her real talent is that of a landscape artist. She applies for the opportunity to work in the gardens of Versailles.

After obtaining the position, she is charged by the head architect, Andre (played by Matthias Schoenaerts who was just in Far From the Madding Crowd), to work on a special project that the two eventually design together. The fact that Sabine was a woman of great talent did not mean that her task was an easy one, but it was eventually successful.

However, underneath Sabine is a woman of great sadness. She is a widow and has also lost her daughter of six years of age. Ther reason for her family's passing isn't revealed until the end of the movie. How it occurs is heartbreaking, so I won't spoil that part in case you decide to watch the movie.

Of course, Andre, who is unhappily married to another woman, who possesses less than a stellar character, falls in love with Sabine. At first she resists because of her sorrow from the past, but eventually discovers solace and comfort in his arms.

Kate Winslet does the movie great charm. Her portrayal of Sabine is nothing but brilliant as all her movies. There is one particular scene that literally brought me to tears where she is among a group of women from the King's court. The ladies sit together and talk about what ladies talk about, but the conversation turns toward whether she is married and has children. Sabine, of course, can barely choke out the truth, and it is then that the majority of the woman in the room relay to her their sorrow of lost children of their own due to smallpox or other tragedies. It is so touching, I could barely keep from crying. Sabine is deeply moved when she realizes that she is not the only woman carrying such a deep burden of grief.

As the movie continues, you are made aware of her gracious character, wisdom, and kindness to others that eventually lead her to a road of healing. Yes, the movie is about the gorgeous gardens of Versailles, but it also much more. The story is rich with sidelines about others who are close to the King as well.

Alan Rickman plays Louis, but he also directs the movie. As beautifully touching as the story is at times, you may find it a bit slow in movement. There is construction of her portion of the garden, her interaction with the King and his court, her blossoming love for Andre, that all move toward the end at a leisurely pace. Some may like it -- some may not. I wanted to push it a bit myself but later scenes redeemed whatever discomfort I felt while waiting for the story to unfold.

You will see many characters played by British actors that you will recognize - Rupert Penry-Jones (Captain Wentworth in Jane Austen's Persuasion); Steven Waddington (who played the Duke of Buckingham in The Tudors); Adrian Scarborough (who has done his share of British television roles including Midsomer Murders); Stanely Tucci (who has been in plenty of movie roles that you can remember); and many other well-known faces. What you may find a bit unsettling is the majority of the cast lacking French accents from British and American actors, however, there are a few women who do have one.

Nevertheless, the costumes are quite stunning as well as the scenery and sets. The production was filmed in England at nine locations (click here to see where), including Hampton Court, which I immediately recognized the exterior and interior.

If you're looking for a touching, but not spectacular period movie, you may want to check this one out.

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rogerdarlington from United Kingdom
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At a time when "F&F7" is dominating box office takings, this could hardly be a more different offering: not so much fast and furious as slow and sedate. It is pitching for a more refined, but inevitably much smaller, audience and its target demographic will find it a qualified success. Modestly enjoyable but unexceptional.

Set at the court of the French King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman) in Versailles (but wholly shot at some splendid British locations), this a well-intentioned, mildly feminist work that presents a woman landscape designer - the fictional Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet) - in a world (like most) dominated by men such as the real-life Andreé Le Nôtre (Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts). Not only does she cause a little chaos in the gardens, but in the court where, in a surprising couple of scenes, she discovers and exposes the sexism and ageism towards the female aristocracy.

At one level, this is Rickman's film: it is only the second he has directed, he contributed to the script, and he steals certain scenes as the Sun King. However, for me, it was owned by the ever-winsome Winslet. She is somebody one can imagine getting her hands dirty in gardens and standing up for her sex; she is one of the finest British actress of her generation; and I have never seen her in a role where she did not bring something a little special. But, at the end of the day, "A Little Chaos" has too little going on and too small a budget to be more than an pleasant antidote to the crash-bang- wallop of too many other movies.

Kate Winslet's daughter Mia appears in a scene at the Louvre. She is sitting on a chair alone when Sabine walks into the room before a crowd of people follow.
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Kate Winslet was three months pregnant when she completed filming. She announced her pregnancy into two weeks of shooting.
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Before filming their first sex scene, Kate Winslet went to Matthias Schoenaerts's trailer and told him that she was pregnant, he congratulated her and made her feel relaxed during the sex scenes, "He was very sweet and able to move me in ways that were favourable to my physical state", Winslet told. Schoenaerts also kept his pants and his socks on during the scene.
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This is Alan Rickman's second film as a director.
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Some of the costumes from the television show The Tudors (2007) were altered and reused in this film. Costume designer Joan Bergin was involved in both projects.
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Andre Le Notre designed the Champs-Élysè es in Paris.
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This is Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman's second film together, the first being Sense and Sensibility (1995).
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Filmed at Blenheim palace.
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In France and in the Netherlands, this film is known as "The King's Gardens".
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The real Andrè Le Nôtre, the landscape architect who designed the gardens of Versailles and many other palace grounds, was 25 years older than Louis XIV. The film's time-line of a year or so includes the death of Maria Theresa, Louis' queen. This occurred in 1638, when Louis was 45 and Le Nôtre was 70; At that point, Le Nôtre had been working on the gardens at Versailles for more than 20 years.
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Though Le Notre was a real person, Kate Winslet's character Sabine is fictional, there would be no woman with a profession at that time. Alan Rickman told that he loved the idea of "putting a completely fictitious character in the middle of a known bit of history."
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Alan Rickman was in Brussels shooting A Promise (2013) when he invited Matthias Schoenaerts to play Andrè Le Notre in the film.
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Alan Rickman and Stanley Tucci previously starred together in Gambit (2012).
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Kate Winslet did her own stunt in the scene where her character falls into a weir. She was pregnant but didn't tell anybody back then because she knew they wouldn't let her fall in if they knew.
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Shot in 40 days.
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The film is set in France but was shot entirely in London.
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Kate Winslet and Jennifer Ehle were both in Steven Soderburgh's 2011 movie Contagion.
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The King tells Mme De Barra that the woman he wants to marry is very pious but is not royal or an aristocrat. This describes Mme de Maintenon, the King's second wife, who he did indeed marry secretly (as per Mme De Barra's suggestion).
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france|female protagonist|versailles|garden|king louis xiv|landscape designer|palace|drowning|woman drowning|flashback|topless female nudity|cheating on wife|widow|death of a child|carriage crash|carriage|cheating on husband|bare breasts|paris france|infidelity|unfaithfulness|adultery|dancing|flood|corset|aristocracy|society|louvre museum|bluebells|royal court|1660s|17th century|year 1662|marital infidelity|extramarital affair|jealousy|french|gardener|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Austria:6 / Brazil:14 / France:U / Germany:6 / Hong Kong:IIB / Ireland:15A / Japan:PG12 / Portugal:M/12 / Switzerland:8 / Thailand:15 / UK:12A / USA:R