Post by Dracula on Jul 16, 2023 9:01:21 GMT -5
Chevalier(6/20/2023)
Someone at Searchlight really wanted to make this thing happen. I can’t impart just how many times I found myself watching the trailer for this movie; it seemed to play in front of damn near every even slightly “indie” movie that played at AMC theaters. You can sort of see why given that this has a storyline that feels fairly relevant given the renewed interest in rediscovering maligned artists of color and also the fact that there seems to be some overlap between theatergoers and classical music fans if the various Fathom Events are to be believed. It was all for naught though, the movie did not bring its audience out to the theaters and ended up making less than four million dollars. And that’s in large part because the final movie was just kind of mid. The film looks at Joseph Bologne, the biracial son of a French plantation owner in the 18th century who was sent to a conservatory to hone unrealized music skills who grew up to be an accomplished composer and potential rival to Mozart. He seems like an interesting overlooked figure in history but I’m not sure if film was the right medium to tell his story, watching the movie I mostly got the feeling I was watching an abridged and version of his life with some clear “creative license” taken and that too much happens in this dude’s life to be contained in a two hour movie, and while the filmmaking is basically competent it’s not really doing anything terribly special. It’s a decent enough movie to watch at home on a not too busy day and learn a thing or two but its cinematic achievements are limited.
*** out of Five
