Queen Margot (1994)

Director: Patrice Chéreau
Writers: Danièle Thompson, Patrice Chéreau, Alexandre Dumas père
Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Virna Lisi, Dominique Blanc, Pascal Greggory

The year is 1572 and France is ruled by the Catholic Catherine de Medici (Virna Lisi, Casanova '70). Her eldest son, King Charles IX (Jean-Hugues Anglade, Betty Blue), is next to her, but he is too weak and too unpredictable. Catherine hopes that one day his younger brother, and her favorite son, Anjou (Pascal Greggory, La fidelite), will become King, and encourages the youngest brother, Alencon (Julien Rassam), to follow his steps. The beautiful and sexually insatiable Margot (Isabelle Adjani, Possession) lives in the shadows of her brothers.

In the midst of a bloody religious war between Catholics, led by the fearless Duke of Guise (Miguel Bose, High Heels), and Protestants, led by the great strategist Admiral Coligny (Jean-Claude Brialy, Le beau Serge), Catherine decides to unite the kingdom by marrying Margot to the Protestant Henri Bourbon, the King of Navarre (Daniel Auteuil, The Girl On The Bridge). Margot immediately dismisses her mother's plan, but shortly after she is forced by Charles to become Henri's wife.

After the wedding ceremony, Margot and Henri agree to look after each other and respect their wishes and desires. Determined to celebrate properly, the adventurous Margot then decides to treat herself to a night of pleasure, and together with her trusted companion Henriette of Cleves approaches the Huguenot soldier La Mole (Vincent Perez, Indochine) on the streets of Paris. The young man makes love to her and then disappears into the night.

Five days after the wedding, and two days after a well planned attempt to assassinate Admiral Coligny, Catherine convinces the naive Henri to order his men to kill the Protestant guests who have come to Paris with Henri to celebrate his union with Margot. On Saint Bartholomew's Day, thousands of Protestants are massacred on the streets of the French capital. (According to various reports, approximately 3,000 Protestants were killed in Paris and more than 70,000 across France).

Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, La Reine Margot resembles a lavish opera broken into multiple brilliantly choreographed acts. This is hardly surprising, however, as the late Patrice Chereau staged equally impressive productions of Richard Wagner's Ring tetralogy (together with the great Pierre Boulez) and Alban Berg's Lulu.

Some familiarity with the events chronicled in the film is probably needed to fully appreciate the brilliance of Chereau's vision, but the different relationships and conflicts are exceptionally easy to follow. Despite the long running time – the new Director's Cut of La Reine Margot runs at approximately 159 minutes – the film's pacing is also incredibly well managed.

The large cast of European stars is magnificent. Adjani, who has never looked more beautiful in front of the camera, is sensational as the young and frustrated Margot. Perez is equally striking as her Protestant lover La Mole. (There is a short sequence in which the two are seen naked next to a large red gown that is so beautiful that one could easily mistake it for a painting). Anglade is thoroughly convincing as the naive madman. Auteuil looks slightly older than he should probably be but is terrific as the Protestant King who is forced to convert. Lisi looks genuinely evil. Gregorry, Blanc, Asia Argento, Claudio Amendola, and the great Jean-Claude Brialy also leave lasting impressions.