Chevalier sets out to tell the true tale of Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the illegitimate son of an African slave named Nanon (Ronke Adekoluejo) and French plantation owner George Bologne (Jim High). After his father recognizes his prodigious talent as a young child, Joseph Bologne is sent to France to study music where rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer and becomes friends with Queen Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton), eventually joining her Court under the title Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Seeking to rise to the top of Paris’ music scene, the Chevalier challenges the elder composer in line for the honor, beginning an illicit affair with singer Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving) that threatens to upend both their lives.
The story of the film’s protagonist is a sort of duality that mirrors his two names that are used interchangeably in the film. Joseph being the son of the Western slave trade, born of a slavemaster and a slave and unable to fully escape the limitations placed upon him as a result and Chevalier de Saint-Georges, member of the French Queen’s Court, respected for his otherworldly talent with access to the privileges that come with the royal title. The Chevalier wrestles with having one foot in each world, yearning for the complete respect as a human being he will never receive due to his lineage and at times rebelling against the aristocracy for looking down at him while resenting his African heritage at other points for holding him back. This is best encapsulated by the rocky relationship between Joseph and his mother once the two are reunited in France. Joseph is at first embarrassed of the African customs and tongue she has retained and brought with her to his upscale French lifestyle, a reminder of who he is and what he cannot escape from no matter the depth of his talent. Her personification of his otherness makes for a tense relationship between the two until a path toward self-realization can be made.
The story beats that the Chevalier’s journey takes feel very familiar to the detriment of the film. Despite the familiarity, it remains engrossing because of its cast and the emotionality they bring to the screen. Harrison Jr. leads the ensemble and the young actor continues his impressive body of work with a performance that brings the right amount of intensity and subtlety when both are needed while being believable in an 18th century French period piece. Harrison Jr. is joined by Samara Weaving as his love interest and their chemistry makes for a satisfying romance befitting the film’s setting. Adekoluejo’s turn as Joseph’s mother provides the emotional grounding and turning point for the film in completing his arc and bringing the film full circle. Also notable are Chevalier’s editing and stirring score, making the film a joy to watch and listen through. Much of the music is Chevalier’s, of course, providing an authentic sound that displays his immense skill and allows his work to continue to live on in the present. The film’s scene transitions are visually striking as well, a testament to its editing and photography. One sequence showing a time lapse of Chevalier’s development of an opera, and his romance with Marie-Josephine, is shot with transitions that are seamlessly edited together that it almost appears as one take with the set blending together from one scene to the next. The visual flair helps the film standout even as a period piece from an era we’re used to seeing on film.
Chevalier’s story of a great talent seeking to overcome the artificial constraints placed upon him by a discriminatory society and system is a familiar one that while sure to tug at the heart strings and emotions of some viewers, will seem rote and repetitive to others sans anything new in the film that sets it apart. Audiences will no doubt know the direction that the story is going in, how it will affect the characters, and how each will respond to the developments as they occur. Yet, the film isn’t a complete bore due to the performances of Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, and Ronke Adekoluejo that invest the audience in the film’s outcome, no matter how predictable. The chemistry that all three have with each other make for believable interpersonal relationships that make you care for the characters and where they end up. Combined with the film’s cinematography and compelling score, Chevalier is a decent watch, if not in theaters, at least at home.
