Free of the Harry Potter juggernaut, British actor and director Alan Rickman has finally returned to the director's chair, almost two decades after his directing debut with The Winter Guest.
His A Little Chaos comes delivered in the manner of a conventional British period drama as it tells the story of Madame Sabine de Bara (Winslet), an independent and pioneering landscape gardener commissioned by King Louis XIV's landscape artist Andre Le Notre (Schoenaerts) to design and build one of the main gardens at the King's new palace in Versailles.
Madame de Barra spends considerable time traipsing around in the mud struggling with the magnitude of the job, weather, competitors and King's demands. As far as garden projects' go, it doesn't get any bigger than this.
The hands-on practicality contrasts well with the more tradition trappings of a costume drama, complete with lavish costumes and heaving bosoms, extravagant interiors and colourful court life.
At times A Little Chaos comes across as a witty, light-hearted romp, especially with Rickman himself as King Louis XIV and a camp Stanley Tucci as the king's bisexual brother. The heart of the story, though, is the budding romance between Madame de Barra and Le Notre - which, unfortunately, is given a more solemn treatment.
