A Little Chaos Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

A Little Chaos Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 5, 2015

Much as the fruits of one's labor -- be those literal or metaphorical fruits -- are often slow to materialize, never quite clearly evident from the outset, and sometimes not quite so bountiful as the effort expended to produce them promises, so too is A Little Chaos slow to fully seed itself and blossom. Director Alan Rickman (The Winter Guest) hasn't helmed a project in nearly two decades and proves a little unwieldy with this picture, perhaps taking its slowly maturing story lines and themes and various metaphors and allusions a little too literally, resulting in a somewhat haphazard narrative and questionable pacing, but the result is a visually grand costume Drama -- with a little humor and a fair amount of convention -- that's more regal than it is relevant, more superficial than it is satisfying. Still, the picture isn't without its pluses -- largely by way of the cast and the ease with which it sinks into the visual complexities of the picture's place and time -- but the real question is whether one's patience will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest of cinema goodness or mere scrumptious bites picked from around the hard fringes of a movie that never quite ripens to its fullest.

It's...

King Louis XIV (Rickman) is aiming to make Versailles the epicenter of his kingdom, and with that comes a need to make it as beautiful as possible. In charge of the project -- creating a luxurious outdoor ballroom -- is André Le Nôtre (Matthias Schoenaerts). He seeks out gifted designers to work alongside him, to inject fresh blood and new ideas into the process. All of his applicants, save for one, are men. Each man is granted a lengthy interview and each walks away suspecting that he'll land the job. The only female candidate is a widow named Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet). Her interview lasts all of three minutes. She appears to fail to correctly answer Le Nôtre's pointed questions on her thoughts on oder in design, but much to her surprise, he calls on her soon thereafter and hires her to the position. Though she at first meets resistance in the ranks, she earns her co-workers' help and respect. Meanwhile, she and Le Nôtre grow fond of one another as she recovers from the loss of her husband and child and he struggles through a loveless marriage to Madame Françoise Le Nôtre (Helen McCrory).

At the core of A Little Chaos is a charming simplicity of story and character that feels overblown for the sake of spreading the visuals thick, of upping the screen time for the performers, both at the expense of the story's inherent qualities that seem better served in a more compact, quickly paced film. The title fits the story perfectly; complexities abound for audiences that wish to unearth them, but the core narrative drives through simple avenues and towards a transparent destination that, in insolation, yields a healthy, vibrant story of overcoming the odds and personal rejuvenation. Yet Rickman slows the journey to crawl, at times, favoring the slowly seeping method of overextending scenes and lingering on the superficialities that the story feels pushed aside, secondary to the resplendent visuals and robust performances that dot the movie. And to his credit, the movie does look marvelous. Even when the narrative gets lost in the shuffle, the movie rarely suffers too dramatically thanks to the elegance of its outer layers. It's easy to become lost in the sophisticated spectacle the movie has to offer but difficult to climb back into the story when it's presented in a rather patchwork fashion.

Even considering the film's uneven flow and wobbly storytelling, the cast is nothing short of spectacular, and not only because the players become lost in the luxurious surroundings and resplendent costumes. To the contrary, the performers bring a tangible life to the surroundings, creating a lifeblood throughout them that, combined with the story's underlying themes of inner healing and outward creation, are a major asset to the picture's general flow and feel. The cast and the surroundings work in harmony to bring order to A Little Chaos in a way that many costume dramas seem to lack; the necessary entanglement of the two -- working the earth, appreciating the world, constructing the environment rather than simply falling into it -- offers a beautiful juxtaposition that, were the film a little more focused and narratively polished, would have certainly pushed it to the top of the line. Still, it's well done and the cast uniformly excellent. While Rickman plays Rickman -- sopping up every scene like a true professional -- it's Winslet who truly impresses. She's plays the part with an obvious confidence yet an open vulnerability, desire and pain, a combination that sees her through in every area but builds a deeper foundational character that works into the story with elevated presence beyond the typical genre female lead. She shares commendable chemistry with Matthias Schoenaerts in several atmospherically thick yet warmly inviting scenes, particularly early in the relationship but not losing any steam as it grows through the course of the film.

A Little Chaos Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Little Chaos was photographed in digital format, and the result is an oftentimes stunning image that occasionally falls short of perfection. Certainly, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. There's no mistaking the transfer's ability to reproduce the finely intricate and ornate details seen throughout, whether complex interior accents, heavy detailed period clothing, or garden intricacies, including mounds of dirt and leafy greens. Colors are generally bold and satisfying, with well defined nuances across the palette but also countless heavy splashes of natural greens and spectacular warm woods and golden accents. But the image occasionally goes a bit digital-flat and pasty, resulting in details that aren't quite so fine as one would like them to be and a color palette that can go too bright and washed out. Black levels follow suit, frequently stunning with natural depth but occasionally pushing too flat and dull. Flesh tones usually find a balanced middle ground but range from mildly rosy to lightly pale. Mild banding and noise creep in at a few junctures but never to any seriously troubling extent. Certainly the transfer is far more hit than miss. Just don't expect consistent perfection.

A Little Chaos Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Little Chaos blossoms on Blu-ray with a healthy DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, an unassuming sort of track that hits all the major notes well but doesn't leave the listener in awe of it, largely because the film's sound design is relatively simple in nature. Music is robust and pleasant, with nice definition throughout the orchestral score and a naturally immersive placement that sends sounds throughout the stage and in harmonious balance. The track produces effective, but mild, surround ambience; worker chatter and light outdoor atmospherics help set the scene and gently pull the listener into the film's 17th century environment. A healthy explosion packs a decent wallop partway through the movie while the resultant flying debris nicely maneuvers through the listening area. The film is mostly a dialogue-heavy experience, however, and the spoken word enjoys effortless clarity and natural center-front placement.

A Little Chaos Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of A Little Chaos contains no supplemental content. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy of the film.

A Little Chaos Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Little Chaos certainly puts its best foot forward. Unfortunately, that foot is a bit swollen in incapable of fully carrying the movie as constructed. The picture satisfies -- and then some -- around the edges. It's gorgeous, strongly acted, and capably smart. It's also bloated and prone to meandering. Nevertheless, the good parts outnumber the bad and carry the movie to satisfactory, if not somewhat underwhelming, result. Universal's Blu-ray release of A Little Chaos features tip-top video and quality lossless sound. No extras are included. Rent it.