Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME
Plot: “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.” -IMDB
Review: As far as biopics go, Chevalier follows a rather predictable and well-worn path. Still, it tells a story that inspires, uplifts, and challenges what we understand about the French Revolution with charm and class.
Joseph Bologne’s (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) story was brand new to me. Perhaps the most exciting thing about this film is the realization that I may have never encountered his work without a story such as this. That’s also a shame, because how he challenged the established order as a violinist, composer, and as someone under consideration to lead the Paris Opera is a story, we should all know. What cements this is that Joseph was a black man, son to a white father and enslaved mother, who counted Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) a friend.
Like any excellent biography, our lead needs a source of pain to rise above like a phoenix from the ashes. Abandoned by his father at a school for remarkable children and separated from his mother, Joseph, as the only black kid in the school, does this by adapting, and in part, rejecting a sense of his true self. Despite a world that both accepts his talents and holds him at arm’s length, Joseph conquers expectations with a sense of confidence that matches the false pride of aristocracy. The scenes in this film where he matches wit, strength, and talent with his white counterparts are some of my favorite in the movie.
As Joseph ages, he becomes accustomed to this world and even embraces it. Believing he belongs in every room he enters are flashes of confidence I will never forget. When he learns of the passing of his father and the subsequent freeing of his mother is when this movie became profoundly interesting to me. His mother's presence in his home confronts him with daily reminders of how different and difficult life could have been.
Matters are further complicated by Joseph’s pursuit of a singer to lead his opera, Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving). As a pursuit of her talent gives way to an affair, Joseph plays with a fire that might force him onto a road walked by his mother, but something that he has only experienced in passing.
By the third act, it's clear that the Paris Opera is unwilling to accept Joseph as their leader, showing society is not ready for a major shift. His affair is also uncovered. Together, these events serve as the dramatic high points of the film and help us understand why t’s name has been lost. With revolution brewing outside his window, Joseph, mired in betrayal, can no longer ignore his choice. He has enjoyed a taste of freedom and the calls to join those building a new France becomes unavoidable. In my estimation, it is this last act that fortifies this film as something you should experience.
Chevalier tells a powerful story that more of us should know. It also serves as another reminder of the names and stories lost to time because of racism and white supremacy.
Be good to each other,
Nathan