Alan Rickman’s newest directorial project A Little Chaos received the red carpet treatment at London Film Festival on Friday evening. Along with the director, the gala was well attended by the film’s producers, writer and actress Helen McCrory.
The film is set in France during the reign of King Louis XIV and tells the story of troubled landscape gardener Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) as she is enlisted to work on the grand new gardens of Versailles. Introduced to the flamboyant court of the king, she finds a new meaning to her life when she forms an acquaintance with fellow architect, Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts).
A Little Chaos will be seen by many as primarily a semi-historical piece of film. However, speaking on the red carpet, Rickman wryly explained his opinion of whether the film falls into the genre of period drama. "I don’t think of it [as that]," he stressed, "I just think of it as a story that happens to be wearing those clothes. The outfits just a bit longer and less comfortable, so you have to get used to that, and the poor women had to be in those corsets."
Rickman not only directs the film, but plays the part of the Sun King himself, King Louis XIV. Talking to Empire, he described how he found the experience of playing the historical figure. "It was hard to enjoy because I was too worried about my directing hat, but fortunately I had a big wig to cover that! I think in many ways you kind of feel sorry for him. You think, that’s a lonely job being Louis XIV, it might be powerful but it’s lonely."
The actor-director discussed his future plans, too. His next role will take him from the court of Versailles to "something about terrorism". Calm yourselves, Hans Gruber fans because Rickman was most likely referring to his role in Gavin Hood's drone warfare thriller Eye In The Sky. That one is currently underway for a 2015 release.
A Little Chaos, meanwhile, will arrive in UK cinemas on April 17, 2015. Co-starring alongside Rickman, Winslet and Schoenaerts are Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Ehle, Phyllida Law and Danny Webb.
Reporting by Jenny Scouler