Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz returns to the film scene with his new film, The Queen's Game, which was presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The film, a historical biopic, stars Alicia Vikander and Jude Law and tells the story of Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII of England.
The latter is best known for being the only one to survive this tyrannical ruler. Jude Law plays King Henry VIII, and the pair reunite almost ten years after their collaboration in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina. And their collaboration works! Indeed, the film's main attraction lies in the performances of its two stars, who could well be rewarded at the box-office.
From the outset,"The Queen's Game" assumes a largely fictional character, and paints an impressive, feminist portrait of Catherine Parr, a woman with the strength of her convictions, who doesn't hesitate to stand up to the monstrous Henry VIII. This makes for some fine staging ideas. Jude Law, portrayed as a massive, terrifying ogre, loses the upper hand to his slender, frail wife, who redoubles her ingenuity to make her voice heard.
Costume biopics are a perilous exercise, but Karim Aïnouz pulls it off rather well, even better than Maïwenn, who dealt with a similar subject with her Jeanne du Barry, which opened the Cannes Film Festival. It was important to shed light on the destiny of this historically forgotten figure, who nonetheless deserves the full attention of enthusiasts.
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