movie review for chevalier

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Review: In ‘Chevalier,’ an erased figure gets a lush biopic

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a scene from “Chevalier.” (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr., left, in a scene from “Chevalier.” (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr., left, and Lucy Boynton in a scene from “Chevalier.” (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr., from left, Samara Weaving and Alex Fizalan in a scene from “Chevalier.” (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Minnie Driver in a scene from “Chevalier.” (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

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Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was an extraordinarily accomplished man in Marie Antoinette’s France. He was a scholar, a fencer, a virtuoso violinist and a famous and sought-after composer who wrote string quartets, symphonies and operas. His influence was vast, but he was all but erased from history books because Bologne was also Black, born in 1745 in the French colony of Guadeloupe to a wealthy French plantation owner and an enslaved Senegalese teenager.

At the height of his celebrity and renown in France, he even put his name forth to lead the Royal Academy of Music at the Paris Opera. Though qualified for the prestigious post, his appointment was blocked. He would later become a revolutionary and lead an all-Black regiment. Three years after his death in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte reestablished slavery in France and many of his works were destroyed.

It’s his story — or a fictionalized version of it with the requisite drama, romance, scandal and tears to fill in the many gaps in his biography — that’s told in the new film “Chevalier,” which opens in theaters this week with Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the title role. In this France, everyone has English accents and he’s introduced having a very public violin-off with a very flustered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in front of a large audience. Though this makes for a rousing start to the film, this is very unlikely to have happened, like quite a bit in the film. But it’s inspired by something real — scholars have posited that Mozart would have been well aware of Bologne and was perhaps even directly influenced by his string concertos.

These and many more embellishments are easy to forgive, however. For one, they’re necessary to fill in the vast holes in a history that was purposefully neglected. It’s also entertainment that functions just as well if you have found yourself at “Chevalier” not knowing that it is inspired by truth.

In the film, directed by Stephen Williams, Bologne’s father recognizes him as a musical prodigy and sends him to a boarding school in France to nurture his talent. This is also likely a fabrication and apparently it was more common than the film shows for the fathers of mixed-race children to send them to these schools. But at school he distinguishes himself in spite of resistance and racism — his father leaves him with a haunting requirement that excellence is his only defense. After a tense bout with a champion fencer, he catches the attention of Queen Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton), who gives him the title of nobility.

Harrison and the script (written by “Atlanta” scribe Stefani Robinson) make Bologne quite arrogant, at least at first. He made incredible strides in French society and had the talent to back it up. When he decides to put his name in the hat for the Paris Opera position, he rebuffs the advances of an older star, Marie-Madeleine Guimard (Minnie Driver), and fixates on a younger talent Marie-Joséphine de Comarieu (Samara Weaving) who he later starts an ill-advised affair with while writing an opera for her. “Fleabag’s” Sian Clifford is a nice presence too as an opera producer and Marie-Joséphine’s cousin. It is quite a bit of soap opera fabrication, that’s a bit melodramatic but not ineffective.

And it’s all serving to get Bologne, who had been quite content playing the necessary games to thrive within the system, to reach a moment of radicalization and revolt (along with much of France) as he grapples with injustices and prejudices. The arrival of his mother helps shatter his illusions too.

In the end, “Chevalier” may be more fiction than history, but it’s worthwhile with effective acting, tension (helped by Kris Bowers’ score) and a decadently beautiful production. And it is especially important in a moment of fanciful “Bridgertons” to focus the lens on important people of color who did actually exist and who have been forgotten and erased.

“Chevalier,” a Searchlight Pictures release in theaters Friday, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for “thematic content, suggestive material, some strong language, violence.” Running time: 107 minutes. Three stars out of four.

MPA definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr .

‘Chevalier’ Review: Kelvin Harrison Jr. Triumphs in the Lush Joseph Bologne Biopic 

'Chevalier' is the perfect marriage of fact and fiction, bringing to life a story of a figure history tried to forget.

Every year, Hollywood turns its gaze upon a new well-known figure to transform into the next high-profile, glossy biopic. These films, such as Elvis , Bohemian Rhapsody , and Rocketman , often aim to entertain audiences, rather than attempt to uplift relatively unknown stories. As thrilling as it may be to see the lives of iconic figures set to the aesthetic stylings of Baz Luhrmann , there’s something to be said about harnessing the truths of history’s forgotten figures and transforming them into timeless tales.

Stefani Robinson ’s tight script does just that by expertly marrying the facts of Joseph Bologne ’s remarkable life with fictitious inspiration that transforms Chevalier into a story that fully captures the audiences’ interests. The story works in perfect concert with Stephen Williams ’ direction, which capitalizes on the grandeur and extravagance of the Rococo era, all the while playing to the delicacies of Bologne’s existence. After all, he was a man of dueling identities—one which was praised and revered for his musical talents, and the other loathed for merely existing in a space that othered him.

Joseph Bologne was a man that history desperately sought to expunge from its records, nearly robbing a man of a legacy that could have—and should have—rivaled musical greats like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . It’s this imagined rivalry that serves as the opening for the film, as Bologne ( Kelvin Harrison Jr. ) challenges Mozart ( Joseph Prowen ) to a duel (with violins, not guns) before an audience of bemused onlookers. This scene sets the stage for the thesis of the film by showcasing Bologne’s talents and forcing the audience to consider why they have never heard of him before now. He had fame and notoriety as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, but neither could protect him from the fact that he was a Black man living in a white man’s world.

RELATED: 'Chevalier': Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything We Know So Far

Throughout Chevalier , Bologne is shown as a man who is striving to push beyond the constraints of his existence. Gaining the favor of Marie-Antoinette ( Lucy Boynton ) and earning the title of Chevalier de Saint-Georges is not enough for him. His aspirations are larger than life as he seeks to break through barriers that restrict him. However, like Icarus, flying too close to the sun, Bologne’s ambitions—in many areas of his life—are also his downfall. With the societal capital he possesses as a mostly respected member of Marie-Antoinette’s court, Bologne begins to pursue his next goal of becoming the leader of the Paris Opera. To achieve this, he mounts the composition of an opera, which he hopes will propel his career upwards. It’s this opera that draws the beautiful and vocally talented Marquise Marie-Josephine ( Samara Weaving ) into his world, setting it aflame with passion and, ultimately, scandal.

Despite her husband, the Marquis de Montalembert’s ( Marton Csokas ), clear demands that he does not want a wife on the stage, Bologne and Marie-Josephine throw caution to the wind on several fronts. While this tragic romance may seem like the stuff of fictitious romanticization, gossip writers of the era speculated that Bologne and the Marquise did in fact have an affair that resulted in a son— whom he lost. The aforementioned references to Luhrmann’s cinematic flare are not without reason, as Chevalier appears to borrow from one of his more iconic works— Moulin Rouge ! —when the Marquis storms into Bologne’s performance with a gun drawn, ready to make him pay for his wife’s affair. It is always exciting to see how visual cues from other works can be woven into new films, thus strengthening the language shared by cinema as a whole.

While the romance between Marie-Josephine and Joseph is one of the most plot-propelling aspects of Chevalier , it is also one of its few weaknesses. Harrison Jr. has surely cemented himself as the perfect, musically talented, and delightfully charming romantic lead—with both this film and Cyrano on his resume—but his chemistry with Weaving is not allowed enough time to fully blossom here. Instead, the film opts to rush through the first blush of romance, straight into the bedroom, simply to benefit the film’s length. With the downfall of this romance such a key point in the final act, it feels like a disservice to relegate their connection to the edges of the plot. Though, perhaps this was an intentional jab at the way history has similarly pushed Bologne to the footnotes.

Rather than approaching Bologne’s story in the typical biopic styling (from cradle to grave), Robinson’s script allows for brief backward glances at his adolescence, while remaining squarely rooted in the Rocco-era present. With the backdrop of the looming French Revolution always just at the periphery—thanks to his radicalized friend Philippe ( Alex Fitzalan )—the film’s conclusion arrives at the doorstep of vive la révolution , leaving audiences to satisfy their own curiosity about Bologne’s future. It’s a clever tactic that inspires further interest, keeping the focus on a story purposefully left untold by history.

With Oliver Garcia ’s exquisite costumes and Karen Murphy ’s production design, both brought alive to their full potential by Jess Hall ’s stunning cinematography, Chevalier is not just a compelling story, it’s a visually compelling one too. Chevalier will linger with its audience, hopefully long enough to bring Bologne’s contributions to music back into academic conversations.

Chevalier is in theaters starting April 21.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Well-acted period biopic about pioneering Black virtuoso.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Demonstrates how racism and prejudice can ruin som

The Chevalier is disciplined, talented, and commit

Predominantly Black filmmaking crew, including sta

A military officer orders six men to break all the

Several scenes involving an extramarital affair sh

Racial slurs: "monkey," "ape," "trained monkey," "

Adults drink at several parties (wine, champagne)

Parents need to know that Chevalier is a biographical drama about the 18th century musician who was once hailed as "Black Mozart," though his music isn't well known today outside of classical music circles. Kelvin Harrison Jr. stars as Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a biracial French Creole…

Positive Messages

Demonstrates how racism and prejudice can ruin someone's prospects and deny them of happiness, but also how a person (particularly a person of color) can be true to themselves and thrive even when they're being mistreated. The Chevalier's life is one of perseverance, courage, determination, and perfecting your gifts through practice and exploration.

Positive Role Models

The Chevalier is disciplined, talented, and committed to his fencing and musical careers. He's confident to the point of arrogance, but it feels warranted given his skill. He also engages in an affair with a married woman, but it's a consensual and loving relationship. After a crushing disappointment, he learns to explore his cultural roots and reinvent himself. Marie-Josephine is a talented singer, a loving, intelligent woman who recognizes that she has little agency in her marriage and social station.

Diverse Representations

Predominantly Black filmmaking crew, including star, director, writer, producers, classical musical arranger, original score composer, and violin soloist responsible for the Chevalier's solos. The Chevalier's identity as a biracial French Creole whose mother was enslaved on his father's plantation is a large part of the story and impacts all areas of his life. The women in his life -- his lover, Marie-Josephine, and mother, Nanon -- have little agency because they must do what the men in their lives say (and, in the case of the enslaved Nanon, she's unseen until she's freed). The story promotes knowledge of a man little known outside of classical music circles.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A military officer orders six men to break all the fingers on a man's hands, only to stop at the last minute. An enslaved Black woman is held back forcefully by White men. An armed man points a gun at the Chevalier and has men hold him but doesn't end up shooting. Crowds push and shove, shouting "liberté" and other words of protest. One character threatens another by showing him his personal cannon. Reference to infanticide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Several scenes involving an extramarital affair show two people kissing passionately, both in bed and out of it. Love scenes aren't explicit, but there are quite a few of them. Characters are usually partially undressed (bare shoulders, legs, and backs and a man's chest are seen). One character propositions another, making suggestive comments about his "large ... talents"; he declines her invitation.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Racial slurs: "monkey," "ape," "trained monkey," "pet," "Negro bastard," and more.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults drink at several parties (wine, champagne) and meals. The Chevalier drinks to excess, one time straight from the bottle.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Chevalier is a biographical drama about the 18th century musician who was once hailed as "Black Mozart," though his music isn't well known today outside of classical music circles. Kelvin Harrison Jr. stars as Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a biracial French Creole violinist, composer, and fencing champion. The movie, which has a mostly Black crew (director, writer, producers, composers, and more), includes scenes in which characters use racist slurs ("Negro bastard," "ape," "trained monkey," and more). There's also some violence: An enslaved woman is forcefully held by White men, fencing with swords leads to bloody wounds, armed men beat a man and are on the brink of breaking his fingers, and a man is known to have killed a baby that wasn't his. Scenes show a couple in bed, with passionate kissing, implied extramarital sex, suggestive comments, partial nudity (backs, legs, a man's chest, etc.), and an unplanned pregnancy. Characters drink, sometimes to excess. Although not all of the scenes in the film are fact-based, it's mostly drawn from the Chevalier's real life. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 2 parent reviews

Great biopic about an unrecognized genius

Not suitable for children deapite pg rating., what's the story.

CHEVALIER tells the story of 18th century French musician and fencing champion Joseph Bologne ( Kelvin Harrison Jr. ). The son of a White plantation owner and a Black enslaved woman, Joseph is raised in a boarding school where he thrives as both a violinist and a fencer. Taught that he must be excellent at everything he does, Joseph defeats White fencing opponents and stuns audiences with his virtuosity as a musician -- but that doesn't keep people from spewing racist comments at him or belittling his abilities. As an adult, he impresses the young Queen Marie-Antoinette ( Lucy Boynton ) so much that she names him Chevalier (knight) de Saint-Georges. When the Paris Opera's director position opens up, Joseph asks to throw his hat in the ring, even though the establishment wants German composer Christoph Gluck (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) to have the position. The queen proposes a competition to have each composer create a new opera. For his, the Chevalier casts the beautiful (and married) soprano, the Marquise de Montalembert, Marie-Josephine ( Samara Weaving ); of course, complications ensue.

Is It Any Good?

Harrison gives an outstanding performance in this tribute to the first major Black composer in classical music history. In Chevalier , director Stephen Williams, working from a script by writer and producer Stefani Robinson, has made a movie that is at once historical and incredibly current, exploring themes of imperialism, paternalism, racism, and Black excellence. Harrison, who's been remarkable in other dramas such as Cyrano , Luce , Waves , and Monster , continues to impress in a role that was seemingly tailor-made for him. He infuses the attractive, arrogant Chevalier with swagger that simmers with intensity. Joseph can't handle being anything but the best, because it's what he believes he must be -- even as his freed mother, Nanon ( Ronke Adekoluejo ), tries to explain that no matter how much he cozies up to the French elite (even the queen herself), he will still be Black first.

The story's adulterous romance is excused by Marie-Josephine's lack of agency in her marriage to a stern, bloodthirsty marquis. She's smart, beautiful, and kind, and she quickly becomes the Chevalier's muse. But the most interesting part of the story is its somewhat rushed third act, when, after a dramatic setback, Joseph starts to listen to his mother, explore the small Black community of Paris, and get in touch with his true self, not just his performative self. There are a few missteps in the movie -- a particularly preachy monologue by Marie-Josephine seems out of character and place -- but Harrison is such an electrifying actor that audiences will undoubtedly want to know more about the real Chevalier. The mostly Black principal crew, it should be noted, includes Juilliard-trained Black violinist Clayton Penrose-Whitmore, who performs the solo in the final big music scene. That commitment to authenticity deserves applause. The drama, and the composer's music on the score, will hopefully raise awareness about an artist and man whose name should be much more than a footnote in music history.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the importance of representation . Why do you think many viewers aren't likely to have heard about the Chevalier before?

Discuss how historical biopics can stretch the truth. What sources do you use to learn about history? When you're not sure about the accuracy of a historical tale, how can you figure out what really happened?

Do you consider Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a role model ? What character strengths does he demonstrate?

Talk about the role of race and gender at the point in history covered by the movie. What rights were and weren't available to Joseph or to Marie-Josephine?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 21, 2023
• Cast : Kelvin Harrison Jr , Samara Weaving , Lucy Boynton
• Director : Stephen Williams
• Inclusion Information : Black directors, Female actors, Black writers
• Studio : Fox Searchlight Pictures
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Arts and Dance , History , Music and Sing-Along
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance
• Run time : 107 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : thematic content, some strong language, suggestive material and violence
• Last updated : September 22, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Based on factual story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the illegitimate son of an African enslaved and a French plantation owner, who rises to heights in French socie... Read all Based on factual story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the illegitimate son of an African enslaved and a French plantation owner, who rises to heights in French society as a composer before an ill-fated love affair. Based on factual story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the illegitimate son of an African enslaved and a French plantation owner, who rises to heights in French society as a composer before an ill-fated love affair.

• Stephen Williams
• Stefani Robinson
• Kelvin Harrison Jr.
• Samara Weaving
• Lucy Boynton
• 59 User reviews
• 83 Critic reviews
• 67 Metascore
• 1 win & 7 nominations

• Marie-Josephine

• Marie Antoinette

• Marquis De Montalembert

• Madame De Genlis

• Christoph Gluck

• George Bologne

• La Boessiere

• Alexandre Picard
• King Louis XVI

• La Levasseur

• Woman in the Front Row
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

'Chevalier' Reveals Its "Watchmen" Connections

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Did you know

• Trivia Kelvin Harrison Jr. practiced the violin 7 days a week, 6 hours a day for 5 months in preparation for this role.
• Goofs In the rehearsal scene for his opera. Joseph Bologne is shown playing a forte piano rather than the more tinny sounding piano of his era. The forte piano was not introduced until the 19th Century.

Nanon : The greatest evil is convincing us that we have no choice. But choice cannot be taken away; choice comes from within. And there is always the choice to fight.

• Connections Referenced in OWV Updates: The Seventh OWV Awards - Last Update of 2022 (2022)

User reviews 59

• Aug 20, 2023
• How long is Chevalier? Powered by Alexa
• April 6, 2023 (Australia)
• United States
• Chevalier de Saint-Georges
• Czech Republic
• Element Pictures
• Searchlight Pictures
• Stillking Films
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Apr 23, 2023

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 48 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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‘Chevalier’ review: A stirring tribute to a virtuoso nearly erased by history

Movie review.

“Chevalier” begins with a showdown sequence so irresistible it really doesn’t matter if it ever actually happened. In a jewel-box Paris theater sometime in the second half of the 18 th century, a young violinist (Joseph Prowen) leads an orchestra, practically dancing in his glee at performing. “My name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,” he shouts, in love with the sound of it. From the audience appears another man (Kelvin Harrison Jr.); handsome, beautifully dressed, Black. He, too, is a violinist, and soon the two men are playing a duet that becomes almost a duel; two virtuosos, strings soaring, the second man quickly proving himself the equal if not the better of the first. The music, wild and glorious and seemingly possessing both men, fills the theater. A woman in the audience fans herself. You might, too.  

That second man is Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-99), and the movie is about him, not the far more famous Mozart, whose story has already been told (and who doesn’t appear in the film again after the opening). The son of a French plantation owner and an African enslaved woman, Bologne was a brilliant musician and composer, a gifted swordsman and a fashionable figure in Paris’ highest social circles during the reign of Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton). Though little remains of his work today (much of it was destroyed during the French Revolution, and performances of his work were banned during Napoleon’s era), his story is slowly beginning to be told .

“Chevalier,” directed by Stephen Williams from a screenplay by Stefani Robinson, isn’t quite a biopic; large stretches of Bologne’s life are left unexplored, and you leave the film wanting to know more about this remarkable figure from the past. (One sentence in an end note, about Bologne’s participation in the National Guard during the French Revolution, would make a fascinating movie all on its own.) But it’s a handsome, stirring and often thrilling film, exploring Bologne’s complicated relationship with his mother Nanon (Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo), his love affair with a white woman (Samara Weaving) — “It is illegal for someone of my complexion to marry someone of my class,” he notes, with sad resignation — and his dream of becoming head of the Paris Opera. Despite his prominence, he is, as his mother observes, a tourist in French society; he’ll always be an outsider.

Beautifully and elaborately designed, the film offers delicious period-piece eye candy (I am, of course, helpless in the wake of a film in which people say things like, “Someone ready my carriage!”), but also brings poignant, moving scenes such as one in which Nanon quietly braids her son’s hair, reminding him that, “Choice comes from within … . There is always a choice to fight.” And Harrison, in a star-making performance (continuing the trajectory shown in movies like “ Waves ,” “ Cyrano ” and “ Elvis ”), carries the film with ease: playing the violin as if its passionate voice were his own; smoothly wielding a sword; vividly creating a man whose outward smoothness and elegant posture masks a turbulent, creative soul. History almost erased Joseph Bologne; this film lets him live again.

With Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Minnie Driver, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo. Directed by Stephen Williams, from a screenplay by Stefani Robinson. 107 minutes. Rated PG-13 for thematic content, some strong language, suggestive material and violence. Opens April 20 at multiple theaters.

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Review: ‘Chevalier’ opts for shallow and tawdry, diminishing the radical spirit of its subject

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It’s a striking image — a young Black man dressed in a waistcoat and silk breeches, his hair braided in cornrows, holds a violin, the bow slung over his shoulder, with the title “chevalier” emblazoned below his feet. This movie poster almost looks like a Kehinde Wiley portrait, a radical reassertion of tradition, a disruption of the narrative we’ve been sold. This is a story that’s been crushed under the brutal wheel of history, war and racism, and the film, “Chevalier,” about the 18th century French composer and violinist Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, promises to unfurl this lost story in modern, exciting fashion.

The talented Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays Bologne, a role seemingly tailor-made for the actor and musician raised in New Orleans. Bologne, the son of a French plantation owner and a young Senegalese enslaved woman, was born on the Caribbean archipelago of Guadeloupe and educated in France. He was a talented musician, composer and fencer, forged high-profile friendships with Queen Marie Antoinette and Phillipe Egalite, Duke of Orléans, and fought in the French Revolution.

It’s quite a life, but the script by Stefani Robinson only cherry-picks the tawdriest bits from his Wikipedia entry for this biopic. Directed by Stephen Williams with a sense of momentum and fluidity, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this version of Bologne’s life story glides over the most interesting parts. His Caribbean childhood and education in a French music school are seen in only a few frames of montage; his leadership of the only legion of fighters in the French Revolution to include people of color is described in text at the end. Rather, the focus of “Chevalier” is on his complicated relationships with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton), who granted him the title of “chevalier,” his affair with married singer Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving), and subsequent ejection from the Paris Opera led by spurned diva La Guimard (Minnie Driver).

Robinson has chosen to frame Joseph Bologne in relation to the white women who loved and left him, and whose access to power shaped the trajectory of his creative life. It’s a somewhat fascinating, if unexplored, subtext of a film that leaves its other themes on the surface of the rather trite and predictable screenplay.

Unfortunately, it’s Joseph himself who is tragically underwritten, leaving Harrison with not enough material to form the kind of performance of which he is capable. We see his competitive streak, especially in a blazing opening sequence in which he challenges Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a violin duel, and later, in a fencing match that’s a fight for racial equality, as explicated by his pal Philippe (Alex Fitzalan). This competitiveness is a byproduct of his perfectionism, necessitated by his father’s instruction to be “excellent,” and his desire to be accepted in the highest, whitest echelons of French society, a goal he later abandons. But we rarely see how that competitiveness might offer a more complex and challenging side to his personality. When he’s not writing music, Joseph is merely battered about by the whims of those around him, leaving Harrison with not much else to do but react.

It’s unclear exactly what kind of movie “Chevalier” wants to be. It flirts with being a contemporary pop retelling of Joseph Bologne’s life story, in the style of Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” — Weaving’s performance is jarringly modern — but it also seems to want to be a true period piece that asserts the presence of Black people, and Black artists, in history, too often erased and whitewashed in films of this kind. But the noncommittal tone saps authenticity from the film, and Harrison is left floundering to put together a compelling performance from an uncomplicated character. Telling the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is a crucial and necessary corrective to the historical record and our understanding of this time period. But “Chevalier” the film fails to express the radical spirit that it seemed to promise.

Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

‘Chevalier’

Rated: PG-13, for thematic content, some strong language, suggestive material and violence Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes Playing: Starts April 21 in general release

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Beautiful ‘Chevalier’ fills in the gaps, fictionally, about fascinating Black composer

Film is a worthwhile bio of the scholar, fencer and virtuoso violinist with effective acting, tension and sumptuous production..

Kelvin Harrison Jr. stars in the title role of “Chevalier.”

Searchlight Pictures

Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was an extraordinarily accomplished man in Marie Antoinette’s France. He was a scholar, a fencer, a virtuoso violinist and a famous and sought-after composer who wrote string quartets, symphonies and operas. His influence was vast, but he was all but erased from history books because Bologne was also Black, born in 1745 in the French colony of Guadeloupe to a wealthy French plantation owner and an enslaved Senegalese teenager.

At the height of his celebrity and renown in France, he even put his name forth to lead the Royal Academy of Music at the Paris Opera. Though he was qualified for the prestigious post, his appointment was blocked. He would later become a revolutionary and lead an all-Black regiment. Three years after his death in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte reestablished slavery in France and many of his works were destroyed.

It’s his story — or a fictionalized version of it with the requisite drama, romance, scandal and tears to fill in the many gaps in his biography — that’s told in the new film “Chevalier,” which opens in theaters this week with Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the title role.

In this France, everyone has English accents and he’s introduced having a very public violin-off with a very flustered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in front of a large audience. Though this makes for a rousing start to the film, this is very unlikely to have happened, like quite a bit in the film. But it’s inspired by something real — scholars have posited that Mozart would have been well aware of Bologne and was perhaps even directly influenced by his string concertos.

These and many more embellishments are easy to forgive, however. For one, they’re necessary to fill in the vast holes in a history that was purposefully neglected. It’s also entertainment that functions just as well if you have found yourself at “Chevalier” not knowing that it is inspired by truth.

• A forgotten Black composer is heard again in Music of the Baroque’s compelling ‘The Chevalier’

In the film, Bologne’s father recognizes him as a musical prodigy and sends him to a boarding school in France to nurture his talent. This is also likely a fabrication, and apparently it was more common than the film shows for the fathers of mixed-race children to send them to these schools. But at school he distinguishes himself in spite of resistance and racism — his father leaves him with a haunting requirement that excellence is his only defense. After a tense bout with a champion fencer, he catches the attention of Queen Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton), who gives him the title of nobility.

Harrison and the script (written by “Atlanta” scribe Stefani Robinson) make Bologne quite arrogant, at least at first. He made incredible strides in French society and had the talent to back it up. When he decides to put his name in the hat for the Paris Opera position, he rebuffs the advances of an older star, Marie-Madeleine Guimard (Minnie Driver), and fixates on a younger talent, Marie-Joséphine de Comarieu (Samara Weaving), with whom he later starts an ill-advised affair while writing an opera for her. “Fleabag’s” Sian Clifford is a nice presence too as an opera producer and Marie-Joséphine’s cousin. It is quite a bit of soap opera fabrication that’s a bit melodramatic but not ineffective.

And it’s all serving to get Bologne, who had been quite content playing the necessary games to thrive within the system, to reach a moment of radicalization and revolt (along with much of France) as he grapples with injustices and prejudices. The arrival of his mother helps shatter his illusions too.

In the end, “Chevalier” may be more fiction than history, but it’s worthwhile with effective acting, tension (helped by Kris Bowers’ score) and a decadently beautiful production. And it is especially important in a moment of fanciful “Bridgertons” to focus the lens on important people of color who did actually exist and who have been forgotten and erased.

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‘Chevalier’ Review: Kelvin Harrison Jr Holds Court As A Violin Virtuoso

By Valerie Complex

Valerie Complex

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Editors note: This review was originally published after Chevalier ‘s world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 20, 2022. It opens in theaters today.

Chevalier is a biopic about violin virtuoso Joseph Bolonge Chevalier de Saint-Georges, directed by Stephen Williams and written by Stefani Robinson. The film stars Kelvin Harrison Jr , Lucy Boynton and Samara Weaving.

Bologne’s music is the talk of the town, but he isn’t allowed to perform in Paris’ most prestigious venues because the color of his skin is a barrier to access. At a party hosted by the Queen, she issues a challenge between him and another composer to write an opera. The winner will perform at the Paris Opera and be crowned the company’s director. He needs sponsors and a singer. After some smooth talking, the musician gets what he needs to win the top spot. But a chance love affair with the star of his opera, Marie Josephine (Weaving), may destroy everything he’s built.

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The production design by Karen Murphy and costumes by Oliver Garcia are mind-blowingly resplendent. No detail is left spared to transport the audience back to the height of song, music and revolution. The way Williams’ camera maneuvers around Joseph while playing the violin is exquisite. Even the hair and makeup are tight. There are no loose strands, nothing is out of place, and production took the effort to find someone to do Harrison’s hair, which is often lacking on film sets with Black leads. Robinson’s script is sometimes a little too on the nose, but she doesn’t make him a sympathetic character, which is refreshing.

The acting is in top form, but the standouts are Harrison and Boynton. Harrison is a revelation and gets better with every performance. He chooses his projects with such care and consideration — he’s navigating Hollywood on his terms. Boynton shapes her version of Marie Antionette as the perfect Karen, very much self-absorbed and anti-allyship. It’s her best work to date.

Chevalier is a lesson in what happens when we get in our own way. Joseph did whatever he wanted to do and paid the price. He gets dropped by every white person he coveted and this crushes his ego. The virtuoso was told to strive for perfection (whiteness), and the door is slammed in his face when he does. That is white supremacy in a nutshell. However, out of the struggle, he gains autonomy and dignity and uses his music not to entertain white people but as a form of rebellion.

Title: Chevalier Studio: Searchlight Pictures Release date: April 21, 2023 Director: Stephen Williams Screenwriter: Stefani Robinson Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucy Boynton, Samara Weaving, Minnie Driver, Sian Clifford, Alex Fitzalan, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo Rating: PG-13 Running time: 1 hr 47 min

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• DVD & Streaming
• Biography/History , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• April 21, 2023
• Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Joseph; Samara Weaving as Marie-Josephine; Lucy Boynton as Marie Antoinette; Ronke Adekoluejo as Nanon; Marton Csokas as Marquis de Montalembert; Alex Fitzalan as Philippe; Minnie Driver as La Guimard; Sian Clifford as Madame De Genlis; Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Christoph Gluck; Jim High as George Bologne

Home Release Date

• June 16, 2023
• Stephen Williams

Distributor

• Searchlight Pictures

Movie Review

Excellence , Joseph’s father told him. Excellence would be his shield. And young Joseph Bologne needed one.

France in the 18 th century was hardly a bastion of enlightened thinking, after all. It was a land of corsets and powdered wigs, where your lot in life was often dependent on to whom you were born.

And Joseph’s own lineage is … complicated.

His plantation-owning father could certainly move in France’s higher social circles, even if his plantation was located in faraway Guadeloupe. But Joseph’s mother was a slave—technically, his father’s property. In France, where men and women powder their faces to a snowy white, Joseph’s dark skin stood out.

 “You must be excellent,” Georges Bologne told his son, “not give anyone a reason to tear you down.”

And so Joseph was. He made a name as a champion fencer, and his skill with a rapier earned him the title Chevalier , or knight —from Queen Marie Antoinette herself, no less. He was known as a poet, a dancer, a composer. But put a violin in his hand, and Joseph’s excellence shone beyond measure. He became a celebrity in aristocratic France, attending the most exclusive parties, dancing at the most exquisite balls. He’s a favorite of the queen and a star in all the right circles.

But even excellence isn’t enough to open every door.

Even as much of Paris’ glitterati pays homage to this talented man, others resent him, even considering him an enemy of true (read: white) Frenchmen everywhere. His mother—freed after Georges died and reunited with Joseph after decades of separation—reminds him of his past. And she stirs something new, or perhaps something old and buried, inside him.

Joseph is a man from two worlds, but he belongs to neither. He longs for true acceptance in the society he paradoxically dominates. And to earn that acceptance, the gifted musician will need to stand out to leave no doubt about his talents: He wants to lead the famed Paris Opera.

But to do that, he’ll need to win a contest and create an opera that will wow the judges. And to create such an opera, he’ll need someone to star in it—the lovely, talented and married Marie-Josephine.

Yes, Joseph excels at a great many things. But it’s not enough for Joseph to be a celebrity. He truly wants to be a part of this world. And he hopes that his excellence will unlock these final doors.

Positive Elements

Chevalier is based on the real, and remarkable, Joseph Bologne, who’d come to be known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. He’s a man of many talents, but perhaps we should more appropriately applaud his courage . It can’t be easy to navigate a world in which you look so different from everyone else, a world filled with both overt and covert prejudice. But he does so, pushing not just to make a place for himself, but to, in his own way, show that world how shortsighted and wrong-headed those prejudices are.

But as history (and the movie) pushes forward, the ideals that will eventually mold the French Revolution— liberté , égalité , fraternité —become more potent in society, and more attractive to Joseph. While he tries to make his way in this aristocratic society, the prejudice that he and others experience, as well as the needs he sees in the streets of Paris, slowly galvanize him to take a greater part in changing that society. The French Revolution certainly had its problems, of course. But those core values of liberty, equality and fraternity are still virtues that we can applaud.

Spiritual Elements

Queen Marie Antoinette downplays any possibility of revolution. “You cannot topple that which has been ordained by God,” she says. Marie Antoinette and Joseph mock an opera director from the Queen’s box. She suggests that he looks dead, and Joseph suggests sprinkling the guy with holy water to send him back from whence he came.

Marie-Josephine—Joseph’s would be opera star—prays fervently in a church, adorned (obviously) with religious statues, paintings and stained glass.

Women are referred to as the “daughters of goddesses.”

Sexual Content

Joseph was quite the ladies’ man as his star rose in Paris. We see him in bed with two women following a concert (one of whom covers her apparently bare chest with bedding), while other women have apparently passed out or fallen asleep on various bits of furniture. (Most seem to be wearing just their era-appropriate skivvies, which are relatively modest by today’s standards.) Someone later jokes with Joseph about “bedding” his admirers night after night.

But Joseph has his eyes on Marie-Josephine, who’s married to the powerful Marquis de Montalembert. When Joseph seeks permission from him for Marie-Josephine to star in his opera, the marquis suspects Joseph of wanting more from his wife. And while de Montalembert is the film’s prime villain, he’s nevertheless correct in his suspicions. After the marquis leaves Paris, Marie-Josephine agrees to be in the opera (against her husband’s wishes), and soon she and Joseph embark on a long-term love affair.

We see them kiss frequently and in bed occasionally. Their acts are committed to film, and while we don’t see anything critical, the scenes are both intimate and erotic (albeit in a PG-13 manner). Sometimes the two lounge in bed, their privates covered by the bedcovers. They talk about running off together repeatedly. De Montalembert, upon his return, suspects the two might’ve had a relationship—and those suspicions are later confirmed by irrefutable evidence.

Another powerful woman of the opera, La Guimard, tries to seduce Joseph, telling him euphemistically that perhaps they could join their “talents” in private and uttering one or two double entendres.

Joseph’s opera revolves around a love story. Eighteenth-century fashion was never shy about cleavage, and we see plenty of it at various parties.

We never hear whether the relationship between Joseph’s father (Georges) and mother (Nanon) was consensual—though given the unequal footing between the two, an argument could be made whether real “consent” was even possible.

Violent Content

As mentioned, Joseph’s fame was built not just upon his abilities as a violinist, but as a fencer. We see him in a fencing bout, where both he and his opponent draw blood (most notably on his opponent’s chest). The fight is presented to the audience, and to us, as something of a battle between traditional French values—which include a healthy dose of racism—and the more enlightened morals that some are trying to usher in.

We see little more of that swordplay elsewhere, but Joseph does fight with several soldiers, getting the best of some of them before being overwhelmed. He’s bullied and beaten up, both in school and on the streets of Paris. And he’s sometimes kicked repeatedly when he’s lying on the ground. De Montalembert punches someone in the stomach and threatens to break all of his fingers before being convinced to relent. (We’re told he’s a “shoot first, ask questions later” sort of guy.)

As the French Revolution draws nearer, the threat of violence grows greater. We see angry demonstrators in the streets, and one is shot by soldiers. An officer seems to be overwhelmed by protestors after pointing a gun at someone.

Joseph was the result of a sexual assault, it seems; as a boy, he was taken away from his mother by force. (In flashback, we see Joseph’s mother, Nanon, struggling against some guards who are pulling her backward, apparently away from her newborn boy.)

[ Spoiler Warning ] Joseph and Marie-Josephine’s affair results in a pregnancy and live birth of a son. We’re told that when Marie-Josephine’s husband saw the baby’s skin color, he had the child killed.

Crude or Profane Language

One f-word and one s-word. We hear the word “b–tard” and “d—n.” God’s name is misused three times, and Jesus’ name is abused once.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Joseph drinks heavily during an opera, then attends a party where he drinks even more. The intoxicated violinist makes a scene. We see people elsewhere drink wine and champagne.

Other Negative Elements

Racism is obviously a big theme in Chevalier . Sometimes that racism is quite overt: Joseph is compared to a monkey or ape on occasion, and he’s told to return to “wherever you came from.” At other junctures, it’s more subtle. He’s sometimes discriminated against to keep political or societal peace. And at one juncture, Joseph even believes one his best friends might be using him as some sort of racial token.

The most striking instance of institutional racism, perhaps, revealed when Joseph talks about his inability to marry. He’s unable to legally marry a Caucasian woman. But, as a member of high society, he’s unable to marry someone of his own skin color because she’d be below his social station—which, again, is illegal.

Nanon, Joseph’s mother, has had her own much more overt issues with racism, obviously. As a slave, her sexual encounter with Joseph’s father couldn’t be consensual. But she tells Joseph, “The greatest evil is not what they’ve done to our bodies; it’s what they’ve done to our minds.” The pain, she suggests, of losing Joseph was horrific.

Though Joseph’s father did seek to cultivate an environment in which his son’s musical talents could thrive and grow, Joseph later says that he felt abandoned.

Joseph has quite a high opinion of himself, and he’s not afraid to show it.

When you pluck a character from history and throw him or her into a movie, you often expect that some aspects of that character will be exaggerated. But in a way, Chevalier actually underplays the real Joseph Bologne.

The film gives us a taste of Joseph’s fencing talents. It doesn’t say how he thwarted the simultaneous attack of five men (some sources say six) in London. The film says nothing about his skills in marksmanship (where he supposedly could shoot individual buttons off coats) or swimming (he could swim across the Seine River with one hand literally tied behind his back), or ice skating or horseback riding or any number of other reported skills. If Marvel was assembling a legion of historical superheroes, Joseph Bologne would undoubtedly make the cut.

The movie also conveniently stops just as the French Revolution is beginning, allowing it to unabashedly trumpet its values of equality and liberty—and skipping that era’s later tragic, terrifying excesses. It lauds Bologne’s participation—but ignores the fact that increasingly radical revolutionists imprisoned Bologne for two years. (Unlike some of his friends, he escaped the guillotine.)

And while the film omits plenty of interesting bits of Bologne’s life, what it keeps might keep many families away.

Bologne’s affair with Marie-Josephine is true to history (at least according to one of the age’s gossip writers), and his dalliances with others were widely rumored as well. Those interludes take up a significant amount of screen time, and the film encourages us to root for Joseph and Marie-Josephine’s love instead of marital fidelity. A few curse words sour this otherwise sweet historical score a bit more.

It’s probably well past time that Chevalier’ s fascinating life was brought to the big screen. But while this is a fine, interesting movie on many levels, I look forward to his next cinematic appearance—when we can see more of his life and less of his bed.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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‘Chevalier’ Review: An Opulent Footnote to Black History

Though the movie can feel like a powdered wig soap opera, kelvin harrison jr. dazzles as joseph bologne, who shocked and tantalized 18th century paris with his astounding genius as a composer, violinist, and swordsman..

Set in Paris in the days before the French Revolution, Chevalier is an opulent footnote to black history about Joseph Bologne, born in Guadeloupe as the illegitimate son of an aristocratic French plantation owner and an African slave who shocked and tantalized society with his astounding genius as a composer, violinist, and swordsman, attracting the attention and admiration of Marie Antoinette and her court with uncommon grace, talent and sex appeal. Typical of his audacity is an early scene in which he interrupts a Paris concert conducted by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the middle of the maestro’s Fifth Symphony and asks to play it with him. From there, the film, directed by Stephen Williams and written in lavish detail by Stefani Robinson, chronicles the triumphs and tragedies faced by the brilliant musician (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a dazzling centerpiece performance) who rose to the pinnacle of popularity while battling racial prejudice his entire life.

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Climbing against all odds from outcast to a position of honor and privilege in the Queen’s inner circle, Bologne was anointed with the title Chevalier de St George. Desired by a vindictive older woman, La Guimard ( Minnie Driver ), he fell instead for a beautiful but forbidden singer, Marie-Josephine ( Samara Weaving ), who was very much married to the cruel Marquis Montalembert, a cruel, sadistic and titled reprobate renowned as a murderous bully and tyrant (played by the marvelous Marton  Csokas). When Marie-Josephine defies her husband, accepts the lead in Bologne’s new opera without his knowledge or permission, and in the process, to the marquis’ horror and humiliation, secretly becomes the mistress of a black man, Bologne finds his libido invigorated but his life endangered. Jealous and resentful forces conspire to plot his downfall, destroying any hope of achieving his greatest ambition: becoming the next leader of the prestigious Paris Opera.

The movie piles on one damned thing after another, often turning a truly original life story into a Rabelaisian soap opera replete with powdered wigs and violin concertos. In truth, Napoleon Bonaparte later banned Bologne’s popular compositions, many of which have never been found or heard to this day. Some of that legacy rises from the ashes of obscurity in Chevalier, and even with its flaws, it’s worth hearing again.

Observer Reviews are regular assessments of new and noteworthy cinema.

• SEE ALSO : How Opera’s Crisis Can Become an Opera Renaissance

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Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Chevalier (2023)

July 26, 2023 by Robert Kojder

Chevalier , 2023.

Directed by Stephen Williams. Starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Alex Fitzalan, Minnie Driver, Sian Clifford, Marton Csokas, Alec Newman, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Jessica Boone, Jim High, Ben Bradshaw, Fatou Sohna, Sam Barlien, Mezi Atwood, and Martin Matejcik.

Based on the true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, who rises to heights in French society as a composer before an ill-fated love affair.

It’s fitting that Chevalier , which is centered on French violinist and fencer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George (a passionately ambitious Kelvin Harrison Jr., burning with desire musically and romantically), fixates on the composer’s pursuit to become the director of the Paris Opera since director Stephen Williams (using a screenplay from Stefani Robinson) takes a melodramatic storytelling approach similar to those theatrics.

There’s a sweeping story of doomed love alongside the drive for greatness, caught up in the early goings of the French Revolution. Not to mention, there is also a fractured mother-son dynamic and some harsh lessons to learn regarding race that sadly still seem relevant today; white people, including Marie Antoinette (played by Lucy Boynton here), are fine making a Black man a knight and allowing him to be successful, but if they fly too close to the sun, it will be taken away to maintain the status quo, or in this case, curry back favor from the general population.

For the uninformed (and it’s possible people might be considering Chevalier opens with a transfixing violinist battle between Joseph Bologne and Mozart where the former impresses so much the scene ends with the latter exclaiming, “Who the fuck was that, ” something others will likely be thinking as they eagerly anticipate learning more), Joseph Bologne was the illegitimate son of an African slave and French plantation owner. Said plantation owner effectively got rid of Joseph by enrolling him into an elite private academy, but not before instilling into his mind to strive for unprecedented greatness at everything he attempts.

This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for Joseph, who is such a skilled virtuoso that his peers admire him (despite facing an uphill battle of racism) and winds up bedding white women following every performance, that he can only dream of achieving more while often missing what would make for a greater purpose. Suddenly, his father dies, which paves the way for a reunion with his now-liberated mother Nanon (Ronke Adekoluejo), who naturally thinks he has gotten a bit too comfortable around this high society. His longtime friend Philippe (Alex Fitzalan) also believes he should start looking into giving back to the less fortunate and possibly consider providing a spark to the revolution.

Joseph remains hyper-focused on making a play for the Paris Opera director, which consists of putting together a concert in a one-on-one competition. He also seeks out the beautiful but married Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving), who is willing to go behind her lunatic soldier husband’s (Marton Csokas) back, yearning for freedom to pursue her own interests. It’s an arranged marriage that she has no love for, and those matters are not considering her husband actively looks down on the idea of her performing. Expectedly, Joseph and Mary Josephine gravitate toward one another with believable chemistry, falling for one another.

The story being told here is fascinating, especially since much of Joseph Bologne’s work went on to be destroyed for reasons that might already be clear, meaning that he is an inherently compelling subject for a biopic. But there is the sense that given Stephen Williams has predominantly worked in TV his entire career and how concerned the film is with rushing its plot rather than fleshing out many of these character dynamics and relationships, there needs to be a bit more material related to everything going on here. Even the ending to Chevalier comes when it feels like the story is truly taking off. 

However, Chevalier ‘s electric performances, vibrant costumes, heavenly compositions, and operatic love story steeped in emotionally devastating tragedy elevate this otherwise solid look at a legendary musician and trailblazing activist, furthering a desire to seek out more historical information. 

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★  / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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Chevalier Reviews

Chevalier further indulges in the dank impulses and fragility of the male ego.

Full Review | Nov 21, 2023

Chevalier runs slightly out of steam, a victim of high concept over narrative ingenuity, but it is a relentless satire on male vanity and the grim hollowness of machismo.

Full Review | Jul 18, 2022

Chevalier is incredibly funny and light on its feet. Though a deeper sociological experiment in embedded within the game structure, it is simply entertaining to watch these characters take the competition so seriously.

Full Review | Jan 6, 2021

It is very well-acted, and often chuckle-worthy, and it does pose an amusingly distant view at how we all constantly compete with one another anyway, whether we're using a rulebook or not.

Full Review | Jan 9, 2020

Tsangari leaves plenty of room for interpretation in terms of figuring out what exactly this absurdist case of male competition can represent, but some moments point toward a fun case of role reversal between genders.

Full Review | May 30, 2019

[Tsangari] has made Chevalier into a raffish and intelligent divertissement with one of the year's most applaudably in-sync ensembles.

Full Review | May 1, 2019

Tsangari seems less interested in satire than in digressive dawdling, and while she probably achieved exactly the sterile tone that she wanted, a lot of Chevalier plays like Kubrick on horse tranquilizers, empty and benumbed.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 5, 2019

Athina Rachel Tsangari's Chevalier is a timely arrival as it zeroes in on the minutiae that constructs the modern male identity.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 29, 2019

Chevalier may, as well as a sideswipe at male ego and rivalry, be a wider sideways comment on the prevailing political situation in Greece, where everyone, even the two hired staff, gets drawn into the game.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 20, 2019

Like a black comedy feminist Deliverance, Athina Rachel Tsangari finds lying within the cracks of masculine performativity an inherent struggle with the omnipresent 'threat' of the feminine.

Full Review | Aug 25, 2018

This is a more accessible, funnier, piece from [director Athina Rachel] Tsangari showing her move towards slightly more mainstream fare.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 23, 2018

Athina Rachel Tsangari, who reenergized contemporary Greek cinema with Lanthimos, succeeds in Chevalier by concentrating on a group of six men.

Full Review | May 1, 2018

Chevalier is rich with bickering and petty squabbles, but the film is sustained thanks to the men's ability to preserve (for the most part) a modicum of respect toward one another, and toward the rules of their absurd game.

Full Review | Mar 30, 2018

... there's another benefit to a greater percentage of female directors: a more critical take on masculinity.

Full Review | Feb 14, 2018

Anybody who doubts that the film's trivial pursuits belie a cutting, Buuelian subtext should watch the final exterior shots carefully.

Full Review | Sep 28, 2017

Chevalier is a hilarious but unapologetic glimpse into bad behavior among men who fancy themselves among society's elite.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2017

"Chavlier" is a time bomb of a film, that doesn't really hit you until the countdown timer runs out as the credits roll.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Apr 5, 2017

It has a good deal to say about men from the perspective of a woman and it's never less than intriguing as these rather foolish characters challenge one another.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 27, 2017

One is stuck with these unlikeable characters for 105 minutes, while they do very little to shock, to make the viewer laugh or to truly engage.

Full Review | Jan 3, 2017

Tsangari and her co-writer, Efthymis Filippou, take a quietly amusing view of the men's one-upmanship, and the deft camerawork creates a vibrant style amid the film's confined [setting].

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 17, 2016

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The launching pad for Bertrand Bonello ’s new picture “The Beast” (“La Bete”) is a 1903 short story by Henry James called “The Beast in the Jungle.” Seen by some James scholars as an autobiographical expression of rue for a life of inaction, it treats the case of John Marcher, who confides in his acquaintance May Bartram that he lives in fear of an unnamable catastrophe that could upend his life, and the life of anyone close to him. She claims to get what he’s talking about.

“‘You mean you feel how my obsession — poor old thing — may correspond to some possible reality?’

‘To some possible reality.’

‘Then you will watch with me?’”

And so May does. And Marcher’s fear translates into a passivity that compels him to hold May at arm’s length for the rest of his life. At the end of the story, he mourns a love he never allowed himself to have and understands that the catastrophe was his own fear.

In Bonello’s film, the fear belongs to the popular Parisian concert pianist Gabrielle Monnier ( Lea Seydoux ), who, around the time of the great 1910 flood of France’s City of Lights, confesses this fear to Louis ( George MacKay ), a young Englishman with whom she soon begins a tentative liaison. But the trouble they encounter has nothing to do with Gabrielle’s reticence to enter into a romantic relationship with Louis—although that does exist.

Bonello’s not here to tell us that the only thing to fear is fear itself. He’s here to tell us to be afraid—be very afraid. What he delivers is not just a densely packed art movie but the most potent horror picture of the decade so far. A vision of three (actually four) nightmare times, all of them in the same vexed world.

The cataclysms that fall upon Gabrielle—played by a superbly controlled and often heartbreaking Lea Seydoux—aren’t spiritual or conceptual (well, of course, at first, they are), they’re “real,” or Real. They’re corporeal/physical, or simulations of the corporeal physical. And they’re unavoidable. Boy oh boy can you not stop what’s coming. Close that browser window, rewind that video, press mute on the sound system, reset the house alarm, none of it will do you any good. Not even an alteration in the fabric of reality itself—and this seems to occur at least a half dozen times in the picture—will stave off horror. The beast isn’t in the jungle, it’s in the house, and it’s in the air we can only barely breathe when the movie gets to 2044. It is in us; it is us.

Sounds cheerful, right? Well, what can I tell you? Bonello has a way of throwing us into an enhanced vision of the degrading noise of contemporary life that’s all the more engaging for being so even-handed and deliberate. I mentioned three timelines that are actually four—the movie is framed, kind of, by a green-screen session in which Seydoux, possibly playing Gabrielle, possibly playing herself, is coached through paces for a scene in which she actually apprehends “the beast” and lets out a blood-curdling scream. The image degenerates into a gorgeous abstract mural of pixels. Digitization is here both a source of ravishing sights and sounds and an Excedrin headache of aural and visual glitch. The movie then bounces through three time periods: 1910, 2044—where Gabrielle’s character seeks to abolish her reincarnation torment through a “DNA purge”—and most terrifyingly, 2014, wherein “Gabby” is housesitting in L.A. and targeted by the angry incel version of MacKay’s Louis—Louis Lewansky, who’s 30 and never been with a woman despite his “magnificence,” and who’s now getting ready to avenge himself.

Dolls are a recurring motif here—there are old-fashioned ones made for fans of the pianist Gabby, and unhelpful talking doll in the Hollywood house, and a walking, talking A.I. helper (played by Guslagie Malanda , as impressive here in a relatively small role as she was in the lead of 2022’s “ Saint Omer ”). An electrical fire figures in the 1910 sequence; a malware attack on a laptop is one of the insane blowups in the 2014 scenario. There are bits and pieces here that feel Lynchian, especially in the Los Angeles scenes, during which Gabrielle is fascinated/repulsed by a TV singing contest show that feels like it might have sprung full blown from the creator of “Twin Peaks.” Then there’s the fact that the love song recurring throughout shows up at the very end, sung in its original version by, well Roy Orbison. But unlike Lynch, Bonello has a decidedly un-obscure point to make. Mainly about how the pursuit of the authentic in life is invariably thwarted by roadblocks of humanity’s own making. (Although one supposes that the eighth episode of the 2018 “Twin Peaks” season treated that theme in a relatively unambiguous way.)

“There must be beautiful things in this chaos,” Gabrielle tries to reassure the movie’s scariest version of Louis at one point. Bonello, and this movie’s, greatest dread is that someday a terrible order will emerge, one that will make whatever beauty remains disappear. 

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film Credits

The Beast (2024)

146 minutes

Léa Seydoux as Gabrielle

George MacKay as Louis

Kester Lovelace as Tom

Julia Faure as Sophie

Guslagie Malanda as Poupée Kelly

Dasha Nekrasova as Dakota

Martin Scali as Georges

Elina Löwensohn as La voyante

Marta Hoskins as Gina

Félicien Pinot as Augustin

Laurent Lacotte as L'architecte

Xavier Dolan as Interviewer (voice)

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'Civil War' review: Kirsten Dunst leads visceral look at consequences of a divided America

We see “Civil War” trending on social media all too commonly in our divided country, for one reason or another, and usually nodding to extreme cultural or ideological differences. With his riveting new action thriller of the same name, writer/director Alex Garland delivers a riveting cautionary tale that forces viewers to confront its terrifying real-life consequences.

“Civil War” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters Friday) imagines a near-future America that’s dystopian in vision but still realistic enough to be eerily unnerving. It's a grounded, well-acted ode to the power of journalism and a thought-provoking, visceral fireball of an anti-war movie.

Played exceptionally by Kirsten Dunst , Lee is an acclaimed war photographer covering a fractured America: The Western Forces led by California and Texas have seceded from the USA and are days away from a final siege on the federal government. Lee and her reporting partner Joel (Wagner Moura) have been tasked with traveling from New York City to Washington to interview the president (Nick Offerman) before the White House falls.

After visually capturing humanity's worst moments, Lee is as world-weary and jaded as one can be. But after saving aspiring photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) during a Brooklyn suicide bombing, Lee becomes a reluctant mentor as the young woman worms her way into their crew. Also in the press van: senior journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), hitching a ride to the Western Forces military base in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Most of “Civil War” is an episodic odyssey where Lee and company view the mighty toll taken by this conflict: the graveyard of cars on what’s left of I-95, for example, or how an innocent-looking holiday stop turns deadly courtesy of an unseen shooter. Primarily, however, it’s a disturbing internal examination of what happens when we turn on each other, when weekend warriors take up arms against trained soldiers, or armed neighbors are given a way to do bad things to people they just don’t like.

'No dark dialogue!': Kirsten Dunst says 5-year-old son helped her run lines for 'Civil War'

Given its polarizing nature, “Civil War" is actually not that "political." Garland doesn’t explain what led to the secession or much of the historical backstory, and even Offerman’s president isn’t onscreen enough to dig into any real-life inspirations, outside of some faux bluster in the face of certain defeat. (He’s apparently in his third term and dismantled the FBI, so probably not a big Constitutionalist.)

Rather than two hours of pointing fingers, Garland is more interested in depicting the effect of a civil war rather than the cause. As one sniper points out in a moment when Lee and Joel are trying not to die, when someone’s shooting a gun at you, it doesn’t matter what side you’re on or who’s good and who's bad.

The director’s intellectual filmography has explored everything from ecological issues ( “Annihilation” ) to AI advancement ( “Ex Machina” ), and there are all sorts of heady themes at play in “Civil War.” “What kind of American are you?” asks a racist soldier played with a steady, ruthless cruelty by Jesse Plemons (Dunst's husband) in a disturbing scene that nods to an even deeper conflict in society than the one torching this fictionalized version. There's also an underlying sense of apathy that the characters face, with hints that much of the country is just willfully ignoring the conflict because they'd rather not think about it. But this hellish road trip also maintains a sense of hopefulness − via the growing relationship between Lee and Jessie – and is pretty exciting even with its multitude of horrors.

'You get paid a lot of money': Kirsten Dunst says she's open for another superhero movie

“Civil War” is a thoughtful movie with blockbuster ambitions, and while it does embrace more of a straightforward action flick vibe toward its climactic end, Garland still lands a lasting gut punch. He immerses audiences in the unpredictable nature of war, with gunfire and explosions leaving even the calmest sort on edge, and paints a sprawling canvas of an America forever changed. Thankfully, it’s just a warning and not a promise, using the movie theater as a public service announcement rather than an escape from the real world.

‘Challengers’ Review: Zendaya and Company Smash the Sports-Movie Mold in Luca Guadagnino’s Tennis Scorcher

Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist compete for a fellow player’s heart in a steamy and stylish love triangle from the director of 'Call Me by Your Name.'

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

• ‘Challengers’ Review: Zendaya and Company Smash the Sports-Movie Mold in Luca Guadagnino’s Tennis Scorcher 3 days ago
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Anyone who’s ever played tennis knows the game starts with love and escalates fast. In Luca Guadagnino ’s hip, sexy and ridiculously overheated “ Challengers ,” the rivals are former doubles partners Art Donaldson ( Mike Faist ) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), best friends since the age of 12, who went their separate ways after both players fell for the same woman. Patrick got there first, but Art wound up marrying her — and their sense of competition has only intensified since.

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“I’m no homewrecker,” Tashi teases Art and Patrick the night they meet her, 13 years earlier. Constructed like a tennis competition, Justin Kuritzkes’ screenplay ricochets back and forth through time, asking us to pivot our brains the way audiences do at the movie’s opening challenger match. (In pro tennis, challenger events are like the minor leagues, where second-tier talents prove themselves.) This one frames the film, as Tashi seems torn between her husband and his old partner.

Watching from the stands, their legs splayed indecently wide, the pair ogle Tashi as the wind whips her short skirt up in the air. None of this is accidental: not the way Jonathan Anderson (as in J.W. Anderson, switching from catwalks to costume design in his first feature credit) showcases Zendaya’s gazelle-like legs, not the way DP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom frames the boys’ crotches, and certainly not the moment Patrick squeezes his pal’s leg as Tashi shows them how, at its most beautiful, the game can be an ecstatic experience.

Later that night, at an Adidas-sponsored party for Tashi, the guys take turns trying to get her number. They’re motivated by hormones. She’s more strategic (the sheer control involved in Zendaya’s performance is astonishing, transforming this would-be trophy into the one who sets the rules). “You don’t know what tennis is,” Tashi challenges Patrick, going on to explain, “It’s a relationship.” Lines like this, which spell everything out in blinking neon lights, run throughout Kuritzkes’ script. But Guadagnino’s execution is all about subtext, calibrating things such that body language speaks volumes.

The same goes for what promises to be the year’s hottest scene, back in the boys’ hotel room, as Tashi sits on the bed between the two and coaxes — or coaches — them to make out. “Challengers” is not a gay film per se, but it leaves things ambiguous enough that one could read it like Lukas Dhont’s recent “Close,” about a friendship so tight, the boys’ peers tease them for it.

Over the course of 131 minutes, “Challengers” volleys between what amounts to a romantic rematch and intimate earlier vignettes. At all times, even off-screen, Tashi remains the fulcrum. In the present, Art — whose torso shows signs of multiple surgeries — has been on a cold streak, which betrays a loss of passion for the game. Passion’s no problem for Patrick, who’s more confident in both his swing and his sexuality.

The film calls for intensely physical performances from the two male actors, who both appear wobbly and exhausted by the end. Faist (a Broadway star whom “West Side Story” introduced to moviegoers) has a relatively traditional character arc, patiently waiting his turn and evolving as the timeline progresses. O’Connor (whose smoldering turn in gay indie “God’s Own Country” got him cast on “The Crown”) comes across as animalistic and immature by comparison, as his bad-boy character refuses to grow up or give up.

Another filmmaker might have subtracted himself in order to foreground the story, whereas Guadagnino goes big, leading with style (and a trendy score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). In keeping with the athletic theme, he does all kinds of wild things with the camera, including a composition framed from the umpire’s perspective mid-court that zooms along the net to find Tashi in the crowd. Occasionally, she and other characters smack the fluorescent yellow balls directly at the screen, making us flinch in our seats. By the end, “Challengers” has assumed the ball’s POV — or maybe it’s the racket’s — as Guadagnino immerses audiences in the film’s climactic match.

Far from your typical sports movie, “Challengers” is less concerned with the final score than with the ever-shifting dynamic between the players. The pressure mounts and the perspiration pours, as the pair once known as “Fire and Ice” face off again. Whether audiences identify as Team Patrick or Team Art, Guadagnino pulls a risky yet effective trick, essentially scoring the winning shot himself.

Reviewed at AMC Century City 15, Los Angeles, April 9, 2024. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 131 MIN.

• Production: Amazon MGM presentation of a Why Are You Acting?, Frenesy Films, Pascal Pictures production. Producers: Amy Pascal, Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya, Rachel O’Connor. Executive producers: Bernard Bellew, Lorenzo Mieli, Kevin Ulrich.
• Crew: Director: Luca Guadagnino. Camera: Sayonbhu Mukdeeprom. Editor: Marco Costa. Music: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross. Music supervisor: Robin Urdang.
• With: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist.

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Monkey Man review – Dev Patel goes wild in ultraviolent Mumbai revenge flick

Patel exacts wildly OTT vengeance in the neon-lit city in this stylish and exciting action thriller, which doubles as a boisterous satire of Modi-esque nationalism

D ev Patel brings the gonzo chaos for this very impressive writing-directing feature debut, with Jordan Peele on board as a producer; it’s a wildly over-the-top revenge action thriller on the teeming but uncliched streets of Mumbai – doubling as a boisterous satire of Modi-esque nationalism. As the lead performer, Patel shows us some pretty serious martial arts chops, kickboxing and thumping seven shades of ordure out of the punchbag, and then the bad guys – and periodically pausing, of course, attractively dropletted with sweat, to let us get an eyeful of those sculpted abs. And he also gives us a gloriously old fashioned men’s room punch-up, with the flimsy wooden dividing walls of the lavatory cubicles going over like dominos and each washroom mirror smashed to its constituent molecules.

Patel plays a guy calling himself “Bobby”, a fake name taken ominously from a brand of bleach; as a kid, he lived in the forest with his adored single mum, who held him spellbound with tales of Lord Hanuman, the monkey deity. A greedy property developer passing himself off as a spiritual guru (in league with a populist rightwing politician) wanted this forest and brought tragedy into the kid’s life, with the help of a hateful, corrupt police chief (Sikander Kher). Now Bobby is driven by a need for payback, infiltrating the criminal organisation, biding his time, and earning cash on the side as a monkey-masked fighter at bare-knuckle bouts run by a leering master of ceremonies played by Sharlto Copley; he is dreaming of the time when he will rain down terrible vengeance.

Patel clearly thinks that his movie looks like John Wick; hence a rather self-conscious pre-emptive line about that well known Keanu Reeves franchise in the script. But that’s not precisely the resemblance; given Patel’s need to avenge a dead parent, his personal growth “wilderness” experiences at the hands of socially marginalised but wise people, and his bloody and ultraviolent attack in the neon-lit city – Monkey Man looks more like Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives crossed with The Lion King. And Patel turns it into a very exciting and stylish movie. His previous acting work didn’t obviously point to a kickass action career, although his performance in The Green Knight might have given us a hint. He’s evolved.

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‘The Greatest Hits’ Review: Yes, She Could Turn Back Time.

A high-concept movie about music and grief lacks follow through.

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By Alissa Wilkinson

“The Greatest Hits” literalizes the familiar heartache: You’re driving down the road, radio blaring at full tilt. Suddenly that song comes on, the one that reminds you of your ex, or of a time that was joyous but now is a sadness-tinged memory. Plunged back into that head space, you feel as though you’ve traveled through time. And the longing it prompts can be unbearable.

This is where Harriet (Lucy Boynton) finds herself, except instead of feeling as if she’s moving through time, she is truly hurtling through the fourth dimension. Since having lost her boyfriend, Max (David Corenswet), in a tragic accident, any song Harriet hears attached to memories of him catapults her, quite literally, back to the moment in their relationship when that song was playing. When she leaves the house, she wears noise-canceling headphones to protect against unexpected time travel provoked by radios and errant Spotify shuffles.

At home, though, she spends her nights trying to slip backward. Harriet has become obsessed with trying to return to a moment where she can set the world straight and ensure that Max won’t die, which means, even two years after his death, that she is still “hiding out in her grief,” as another character puts it. In the midst of this, at her grief support group, Harriet meets a nice guy named David (Justin H. Min), who’s dealing with loss of his own.

Ned Benson, who wrote and directed “The Greatest Hits,” has explored this territory before. His previous work, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,” was a trilogy, made up of two films that explored a couple’s grief-stricken, tumultuous relationship from each of their individual perspectives, and a third that combined them. (As the title suggests, music was part of the story, too.) That film felt personal, and so does this one. It earnestly evokes the way grief mires us in memory, making us feel as if our personal timelines are slip-sliding and looping, eternally arrested in the past. Moving forward seems impossible.

But “The Greatest Hits” lacks the imagination of “Eleanor Rigby” and, at times, seems like it might be in the wrong genre. It’s easy to imagine a rom-com version of this movie, since the elements are all there — the hip location (mostly the Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods of Los Angeles), the meet-cute, the queer best friend (a mainstay of the genre , for better or worse), the crates of vinyl records, the pining, the hot guys, even the chemistry. But this movie lacks the lightness and humor of a rom-com, which might balance out all the dreary moments and make it feel more watchable. The version that exists feels more suited for lovelorn teens just off their first breakup than adults moving through profound loss and sorrow, more acquainted with the ways life can’t just stop when tragedy strikes.

“The Greatest Hits” proceeds slowly and repetitively, which doesn’t have to be a problem: The gentleness of the pace and storytelling gives the cast space to breathe and react to each other, to build relationships that feel reasonably authentic. Similarly, the music choices (which are all over the map both in genre and era) are fun and fresh, lacking the on-the-nose quality that a film with more bang-on choices might have provoked. But as it goes on, the movie begins to feel mired in its own high-concept conceit without space to develop it further. Is there a reason the only music that triggers time travel for Harriet is connected to Max? Are there tunes that throw her back to times she prefers not to remember? Why is it important to recall that she used to be a music producer?

There’s an interesting film dancing around the edges of “The Greatest Hits,” but there’s both too much sentimentality and not enough thought, and that’s too bad. For audiences in search of a good cry, it may still do the job. But for those of us for whom the music-driven time travel experience is still metaphorical, it’s cold comfort, a fantasy with no hope of fulfillment.

The Greatest Hits Rated PG-13 for some language and innuendo, plus conversations about death and grief. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. Watch on Hulu.

Alissa Wilkinson is a Times movie critic. She’s been writing about movies since 2005. More about Alissa Wilkinson

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