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Brilliant film. It's like watching a Peter Greenaway movie within a documentary perspective enhanced by the luscious strains of a Enio Morricone score and baroque period theatrical stagings set to the music of Jean Phillipe Rameau.
In essence the film portrays a slice of "life at court" in the literal sense; which in spite of it's depictions of superficially sumptuous delights; is in fact a glimpse into the grotesqueries of unbridled excess and treacherous machinations of the French nobility during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV.
Vatel is a relatively obscure figure in the storied life of the Bourbon Dynasty; he is a minor foot note at best, however his position as Majordomo or Chief Steward of the royal house of Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Condé provides a perfect window from which we can observe the sinister, self serving intrigues of the various courtiers, ministers and parasitic entourage of the Royal Court.
The abbreviated story of the Sun King's visit to the estate of the prince is a test of loyalty and an attempt to broker a reconciliation between the ruling monarch and the Prince de Condé whose family is a cadet branch of the Royal House of Bourbon.
The complexities of deciphering the Bourbon family tree is an arduous task that contributes little or no value to the film and the role of the Prince de Condé in the Franco-Spanish war is far too complicated and expansive to expound upon here, although the tale of this crucial visit is the perfect springboard for the films plot.
Gerard Depardieu delivers a most convincing portrayal as the encumbered Chief Steward in charge of creating a series of elaborate banquets and amusements for the royal court.
Uma Thurman provides an equally satisfying performance as Anne de Montausier; a noble woman recently summoned to the royal court to serve as Lady in Waiting to the queen.
The interaction between these two pivotal characters is a highly unlikely fabrication, although it provides a convenient basis from which we can expound upon the circumstances of their respective roles and the resulting consequences of this fictitious pairing.
Anne de Montausier ultimately tires of navigating the minefield of complex intrigues of court life abandoning her role as Lady in Waiting and retires to her family estate.
Vatel’s alleged suicide is depicted as an unlikely dissatisfaction with a royal directive to leave the Prince de Condé and accept a position at the royal court at Versailles.
The depiction of his faithful obedience to the prince which borders on a carefully distanced friendship is palatable although probably exaggerated.
If we are to take the suicidal motives on face value as depicted in the film, it disproves the absurd but popular notion that a mishandled delivery of fish was the reason for self annihilation.
The film suggests that he no longer wished to serve the Royal prerogatives at Versailles and bemoans the the fact that persons of his low birth and rank are nothing but tools and puppets of the ruling class.
This supposition is contradicted by the fact that previous to his position as majordomo to the Prince de Condé; he was also Chief Steward to Nicolas Fouquet, the doomed former Minister of Finance; so a directive to relocate to Versailles was nothing more than a glorified promotion, and Vatel would most certainly not be any stranger to satisfying the whims of the royal court.
It is hinted that Vatel was detrimentally obsessed with the preparations for the royal visit and had not slept for the majority of the grandiose 3 day fête. It is this premise that is the most likely reason for his suicide, no matter how unromantic and anticlimactic this may seem.
it is essential for the audience to exercise at least a modicum of common sense to overlook some of the ridiculous allegations associated with Vatel’s suicide.
The extreme effects of sleep deprivation culminating in suicide is coldly clinical and decidedly bereft of any dramatic operatic like conclusion to this story, but the premise that somebody kills themselves over a missed delivery of fish is outrageous beyond any sense of reality and patently comical.
All in all, this overly romanticized and lushly embellished production is impressively entertaining and visually stunning.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2016
- Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2009
Top reviews from other countries
- JOHNReviewed in Canada on May 17, 2020
Magnificent and oppulent display of luxurious cuisine fit for a king!
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