 Vatel
(2000)
Our rating: 2 out of 5
Rated: PG13
reviewed by Charity Bishop
Miramax is known for its lavish, lush adaptations of
classic literature. It specializes in many eras, from
Emma to An Ideal Husband
and
Shakespeare in Love. One of its lesser-known foreign films is Vatel,
a story based on a true-to-life event in French history.
While gorgeous to look at, it betrays itself by too much
pomp and not enough feeling. At the height of society in
the perpetually dark seventeen hundreds, France is
contemplating a war with Holland. His Majesty Louis XIV
(Julian Sands) is seeking the proper general to lead his
victory, and among those being contemplated is Prince de
Conde (Julian Glover), an outer limb of the aristocracy
and a former war hero who is gravely in debt to his
creditors.
Hoping against hope that he will
gain the position, the Prince invites the royal
court to his country estate where he hopes to buy into the king's favor by
giving him an event to remember. The Prince's master of ceremonies is Vatel
(Grard Depardieu), a man of little means and country roots, but an impressive
sense of artistic valor. The house becomes a flurry of activity as preparations
are made, rooms are quarreled over, the silver is polished, and hundreds
upon hundreds of baskets of food are purchased on credit. When the royal court
does arrive, among them is the beautiful Anne de Montauseir (Uma Thurman), one
of the queen's ladies in waiting. Favored by the king's right hand man, whose
overtures she refuses, she finds Vatel a fascinating man, his talents unique and
free from the ceremony and cruelty of court. He is not like the other men in her
life, those who seek to use her only for their own purposes. Anne walks a narrow
path, for she has caught Louis' eye... but her heart is steadily growing fond of
Vatel, much to the displeasure of her other admirers.
All is not progressing well in the country. The surfs are anxious to be paid for
the lavish festivities which they have donated to Vatel's house to impress the
king. The King's brother has taken a dislike to Vatel's sense of ceremony and
his friends are almost uncontrollable. Amidst the polished silver and sugar
flowers is brewing a sinister thread of trouble, not merely amongst the
aristocracy, but those below kitchens as well. Can Vatel cut off trouble at its
source, or will his house of cards come tumbling down? Visually, this film is a
delight. The costuming and sets are exquisite, the lavish decorations revealing
to a shocked audience just how frivolous the court of France was in this period.
Some of their festivities would put modern galas to shame. The food looks
utterly delicious, more of a feast for the eyes than the stomach. We watch in
jealousy as the king and his courtiers are given ornate formations of sugared
flowers and fruits, and platters of food decorated in peacock feathers.
Typical to the French, passions run wild
but the film never entirely manages to make us care all that much. In
delicate taste, the film alludes to many an impassioned affair... hints of
scandal and impropriety while never entirely giving it all away or showing
us too much. This type of filming is almost as disconcerting as showing
everything; for you know what's going on just below the surface. Sadly, all
of the main characters are immoral. Sexual blackmail is used on one
occasion; implications of homosexual overtures on another. People are seen
slipping in and out of rooms and on two occasions nudity is implied; once as
Anne hurries to return to her rooms (seen in silhouette), and another when a
young boy is tossed into a giant washing barrel. Through veiled dialogue,
the king's brother sends someone to proposition Vatel, who empathetically refuses. Cleavage is
also excessive in almost every scene. Even more disconcerting is the
violence. Men are stabbed, battered, and whipped; blood spatters the wall
and floor, and is seen on aprons and hands. A servant is accidentally
strangled. Vatel is forced to sacrifice his parrots to save Anne's birds;
they are killed and their hearts wrapped around a gout foot. The film's
worst flaw is that it doesn't have much heart behind it. We grow fond of
Vatel and Anne out of self defense, but the ending is depressing and the
means of getting there as fragile as glass ornaments. When all is said and
done, it's a pretty piece of wrapping with an empty box as as profit: pretty
to look at, but empty.
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