‘A Little Chaos:’ a little too un-chaotic for its own good

“A Little Chaos,” about a landscape artist who finds romance at Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV, isn’t a bad film.

Kate Winslet (interesting, as always) plays Sabine De Barra, a talented gardener who obtains a job at the palace from handsome horticulturalist André le Notreto (Matthias Schoenaerts), despite his initial misgivings about the lack of order in her blueprints.

[...] we pay more attention to the beautiful costumes and art direction than to any exchange between the two romantic leads.

Some of this can be attributed to the lack of chemistry between the actors, but much of the problem lies in the script, which throws together two withdrawn characters who are a boring mix.

In an inspired scene, Sabine mistakes the wig-less Louis for the garden help, and the incognito king happily engages in a chat about flowers.

[...] the film makes a strong impression when Sabine has a sit-down with some of the women of the palace, many of whom have faced difficult setbacks of their own.