A Little Chaos (2014)

Oh my gosh I loved this movie, which is direected and acted in by Alan Rickman. I found it filed under period pieces on my Netflix home page, and hesitated slightly because the lead actress is Kate Winslet, who I just saw play Mary Anning in Ammonite. This is a totally different character. She plays an independent, slightly damaged, complex, compelling, captivating, strong, and creative woman. She is stunning in this, and I loved having her at the center of the entire story. Rickman - may he rest in peace - was so very respectful of women and women characters, and it really shows in this small and quiet movie. The period it is set in is the reign of Louis XIV and the time is the building of Versailles. Rickman is the king, Matthias Achoenaerts is his landscape designer and Winslet is the woman he hires because her designs are more radical and less balanced than his. He respects her before he loves her and the romance between them is light and organic, kind of in the usual British fashion. The outdoor spaces are gorgeous (I am a non-gardener--there may be thiings that are totally off kilter if you acatually know what they are talking about) and it was a really lovely movie to watch.