Far from the excesses of the Court of Versailles, Gianluca Jodice 's new film Le Déluge presents Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in a historical drama at the height of the French Revolution. Played by Guillaume Canet and Mélanie Laurent, we witness the fall of the royal couple and the end of absolute monarchy.
Spectators are plunged into 1792, at the very end of the Ancien Régime. On August 13, 1792, at the height of the French Revolution, Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVI, his sister Madame Élisabeth (Aurore Brutin), his daughter Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte and his son Le Dauphin were taken to the Tour du Temple dungeon. The film is loosely based on the diaries of Cléry, the King's valet who remained with him until his death.
Our review:This part of the story of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI was interesting to explore, and we're delighted not to see yet another version of Marie-Antoinette 's life at court. The long, wide shots are very pleasing to the eye, transporting us back to 1792. The soundtrack cleverly sets the mood, underscoring the well-chosen settings of this dark period.Guillaume Canet 's transformation is so impressive that we forget he was chosen to play Louis XVI. We have before us a vision of a mediocre but endearing man, brilliantly played by Guillaume Canet, with Marie-Antoinette at her wit's end, disappointed by her husband's inability to do anything.While the story may merit a few more twists and turns, it nonetheless tries to be faithful to historical reality, and the viewer ends up waiting, like Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI, for the sentence. A successful drama from Gianluca Jodice, in which the suffering of the royal family grips our hearts from start to finish.