Review: In ‘Chevalier,’ an Erased Figure Gets a Lush Biopic

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a scene from "Chevalier." (Searchlight Pictures via AP)
This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a scene from "Chevalier." (Searchlight Pictures via AP)
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Review: In ‘Chevalier,’ an Erased Figure Gets a Lush Biopic

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a scene from "Chevalier." (Searchlight Pictures via AP)
This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a scene from "Chevalier." (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was an extraordinarily accomplished man in Marie Antoinette’s France. He was a scholar, a fencer, a virtuoso violinist and a famous and sought-after composer who wrote string quartets, symphonies and operas. His influence was vast, but he was all but erased from history books because Bologne was also Black, born in 1745 in the French colony of Guadeloupe to a wealthy French plantation owner and an enslaved Senegalese teenager.

At the height of his celebrity and renown in France, he even put his name forth to lead the Royal Academy of Music at the Paris Opera. Though qualified for the prestigious post, his appointment was blocked. He would later become a revolutionary and lead an all-Black regiment. Three years after his death in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte reestablished slavery in France and many of his works were destroyed.

It’s his story — or a fictionalized version of it with the requisite drama, romance, scandal and tears to fill in the many gaps in his biography — that’s told in the new film “Chevalier,” which opens in theaters this week with Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the title role. In this France, everyone has English accents and he’s introduced having a very public violin-off with a very flustered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in front of a large audience. Though this makes for a rousing start to the film, this is very unlikely to have happened, like quite a bit in the film. But it’s inspired by something real — scholars have posited that Mozart would have been well aware of Bologne and was perhaps even directly influenced by his string concertos.

These and many more embellishments are easy to forgive, however. For one, they’re necessary to fill in the vast holes in a history that was purposefully neglected. It’s also entertainment that functions just as well if you have found yourself at “Chevalier” not knowing that it is inspired by truth.

In the film, directed by Stephen Williams, Bologne’s father recognizes him as a musical prodigy and sends him to a boarding school in France to nurture his talent. This is also likely a fabrication and apparently it was more common than the film shows for the fathers of mixed-race children to send them to these schools. But at school he distinguishes himself in spite of resistance and racism — his father leaves him with a haunting requirement that excellence is his only defense. After a tense bout with a champion fencer, he catches the attention of Queen Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton), who gives him the title of nobility.

Harrison and the script (written by “Atlanta” scribe Stefani Robinson) make Bologne quite arrogant, at least at first. He made incredible strides in French society and had the talent to back it up. When he decides to put his name in the hat for the Paris Opera position, he rebuffs the advances of an older star, Marie-Madeleine Guimard (Minnie Driver), and fixates on a younger talent Marie-Joséphine de Comarieu (Samara Weaving) who he later starts an ill-advised affair with while writing an opera for her. “Fleabag’s” Sian Clifford is a nice presence too as an opera producer and Marie-Joséphine’s cousin. It is quite a bit of soap opera fabrication, that’s a bit melodramatic but not ineffective.

And it’s all serving to get Bologne, who had been quite content playing the necessary games to thrive within the system, to reach a moment of radicalization and revolt (along with much of France) as he grapples with injustices and prejudices. The arrival of his mother helps shatter his illusions too.

In the end, “Chevalier” may be more fiction than history, but it’s worthwhile with effective acting, tension (helped by Kris Bowers’ score) and a decadently beautiful production. And it is especially important in a moment of fanciful “Bridgertons” to focus the lens on important people of color who did actually exist and who have been forgotten and erased.



‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Tops the US Box Office

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)
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‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Tops the US Box Office

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)

Neither Pixar nor zombies were enough to topple “How to Train Your Dragon" from the No. 1 slot at North American box offices over the weekend. The Universal Pictures live-action remake remained the top film, bringing in $37 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, despite the sizeable new releases of “Elio” and “28 Years Later” , according to studio estimates Sunday. “How To Train Your Dragon” has rapidly amassed $358.2 million worldwide, The Associated Press reported.

Six years after its last entry, the Dean DeBlois-directed “How To Train Your Dragon” has proven a potent revival of the DreamWorks Animation franchise. A sequel is already in the works for the $150 million production, which remakes the 2010 animated tale about a Viking boy and his dragon.

Pixar's “Elio” had a particularly tough weekend. The Walt Disney Co. animation studio has often launched some of its biggest titles in June, including “Cars,” “WALL-E” and “Toy Story 4.” But “Elio,” a science fiction adventure about a boy who dreams of meeting aliens, notched a modest $21 million, the lowest opening ever for Pixar.

“This is a weak opening for a new Pixar movie,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe. “These would be solid numbers for another original animation film, but this is Pixar, and by Pixar’s remarkable standard, the opening is well below average.”

“Elio,” originally set for release in early 2024, had a bumpy road to the screen. Adrian Molina — co-director of “Coco” — was replaced mid-production by Domee Shi (“Turning Red”) and Madeline Sharafian. Back at Disney’s D23 conference in 2022, America Ferrera appeared to announce her role as Elio’s mother, but the character doesn’t even exist in the revamped film.

Disney and Pixar spent at least $150 million making “Elio,” which didn’t fare any better internationally than it did in North America, bringing in just $14 million from 43 territories. Pixar stumbled coming out of the pandemic before stabilizing performance with 2023’s “Elemental” ($496.4 million worldwide) and 2024’s “Inside Out 2” ($1.7 billion), which was the company's biggest box office hit.

“Elemental” was Pixar's previously lowest earning film, launching with $29.6 million. It rallied in later weeks to collect nearly half a billion dollars at the box office. The company's first movie, “Toy Story,” opened with $29.1 million in 1995, or $60 when adjusted for inflation. It remains to be seen whether “Elio's” decent reviews and “A” from CinemaScore audiences can lead it to repeat “Elemental's” trajectory.

With most schools on summer break, the competition for family audiences was stiff. Disney’s own “Lilo & Stitch,” another live-action remake, continued to pull in young moviegoers. It grossed $9.7 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its global tally to $910.3 million.

“28 Years Later” signaled the return of another, far gorier franchise. Director Danny Boyle reunited with screenwriter Alex Garland to resume their pandemic apocalypse thriller 25 years after “28 Days Later” and 18 years after its sequel, “28 Weeks Later.”

The Sony Pictures release opened with $30 million. That was good enough to give Boyle, the filmmaker of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Trainspotting,” the biggest opening weekend of his career. The film, which cost $60 million to make, jumps ahead nearly three decades from the outbreak of the so-called rage virus for a coming-of-age story about a 12-year-old (Alfie Williams) venturing out of his family’s protected village. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes co-star.

Reviews have been good (90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) for “28 Years Later,” though audience reaction (a “B” CinemaScore) is mixed. Boyle has more plans for the zombie franchise, which will next see the release of “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” next year from director Nia DaCosta.

“28 Years Later” added another $30 million in 59 overseas markets.

After its strong start last weekend with $12 million, A24’s “Materialists” held well with $5.8 million in its second weekend. The romantic drama by writer-director Celine Song and starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans has collected $24 million so far.

Next weekend should also be a competitive one in movie theaters, with both “F1,” from Apple and Warner Bros., and Universal’s “Megan 2.0” launching in cinemas.