Queen Margot (Patrice Chereau, 1994)

Queen Margot is one of the lushest, most sensual, most beautiful movies I've ever seen. Isabelle Adjani is absolutely radiant, playing a gorgeous, torn French queen during one of the bloodiest periods of French history. Unfortunately, I really had no idea what was going on until about 90 minutes into the movie. Again, I don't think I'm particularly dense at movies, but without a deep understanding of the bloody French Catholic versus Protestant struggles of the late 1500s, the plot of this movie is incredibly convoluted, with little explanation until things fall into place after an hour and a half. While the script is a little lacking in those not schooled in French history, the visuals and Isabelle Adjani's performance as the sexy yet incredibly strong Margot, sister of the king and forced into a marriage to a Protestant to foster peace, are both worth the watch. Adjani makes the film her own, as a woman with nowhere really to turn, and not only is she a great actress, she is ridiculously beautiful for a woman of 40 (she doesn't look a day past 20, literally). Margot forges an alliance with her husband Henri, but they are both in constant danger after the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. There are attemped escapes, anonymous sex by the queen, a near-fatal hunting trip, tons of murders, along with the queen taking a lover and the king's death by poisoning (sweating blood is a grotesque, surreal effect of arsenic poisoning) all make this movie intriguing, if not quite a bit confusing. Vincent Perez is downright sexy as Margot's lover, La Mole, and even Asia Argento has an interesting little part as doomed Charlotte of Sauve, who has a great death scene. Great performances all around, just make sure to read up on the film a little bit if you don't want to be lost for as long as I was. 6.5/10 RIYL: period pieces, Werner Herzog's Nosferatu (another lovely Adjani performance)

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