Kelvin Harrison Jr. to Star in 'Chevalier de Saint-Georges'

[scriptedending]

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Lands Lead in Searchlight’s Period Biopic ‘Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ https://t.co/v8SfLk1Sfp
- Variety (@Variety) April 1, 2021

Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves, Luce) has been cast as the lead in Chevalier de Saint-Georges, an upcoming period biopic about the artist known by the same name. The illegitimate son of a French plantation

Comments

[little_vienna]

I'm all here for a movie about Saint-Georges but uhhhh, hmm.

He rose to fame in French society, but after an love affair gone wrong and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court, his downfall was swift.

Unless they've discovered some new trove of information, it sounds like they're fictionalizing some drama with Marie Antoinette that didn't happen and framing it as his "downfall." He didn't have a "downfall" caused by any falling out with Marie Antoinette or the French court.

Marie Antoinette supported his bid to become the new head of the Paris Opera in 1776, but the actors in the company were racist fucks and wrote a petition to Marie Antoinette that more or less said "our delicate sensibilities won't allow us to submit to the orders of a mulatto!" and Saint-Georges knew it was a losing battle and withdrew his petition. Louis XVI didn't appoint anyone in his stead (the position went instead to a court functionary) and afterward, Marie Antoinette invited Saint-Georges into her intimate circle, where he would be invited to her private rooms for musical performances.

Unless they're trying to somehow make this anecdote into a big drama, related to a failed opera in 1777? "The Queen attended with her entourage. She came to support Saint-Georges's opera but, after the audience kept echoing a character cracking his whip and crying "Ohé, Ohé," the Queen gave it the coup de grace by calling to her driver: "to Versailles, Ohé!""

But the opera was critically panned and it had nothing to do with Marie Antoinette anecdotally quipping something on her way home, and Saint-Georges was still going to her private circle performances as late as 1779, so obviously the events didn't cause some fracture between them.

Maybe they're trying to imply Saint-Georges being employed by the older Orleans (and befriending the future 'Philippe Egalite' Orleans) was the 'falling out'? But no--he was employed by Orleans in various capacities prior to 1779, and Marie Antoinette attended many of the concerts Saint-Georges held well into the 1780s, to the point that the orchestra at Saint-Georges' concert started to wear court attire for their performances because she would sometimes show up without notice.

So... what are they talking about?

I'm very much reminded of what they did with "Belle," where they created a vastly fictionalized version of events in order to emphasize certain thematic statements rather than sticking to an accurate depiction of her life.

[crowdedstreets]

I mean I don't think they're aiming for an academic work.

[little_vienna]

It doesn't have to be academic to be accurate, though, and it's frustrating IMO that the first major film about him looks like it's going to be a heavily fictionalized, made up version of events where the major catalyst in his life is a fictional falling out with the Marie Antoinette/the French court that causes his "downfall," which didn't really happen (the falling out, or the downfall, at least not in that context).

Instead of tackling who he was or what he actually did. He was an abolitionist, traveled in between London and Paris and was even attacked in London likely for said abolitionist ties, established a society for the freedom of black people in France and French territories, became a revolutionary military leader, was imprisoned, prior to the French revolution already had an international reputation for being a ladies man & fencing champion, etc etc. Why do they need to make up some court drama, when his actual life was far more fascinating?

Maybe it would be different if he was more well known and we had tons of movies about him like we do other figures, but in this case it's like... I want them tell his story.