Chevalier movie storyline. Featuring a dynamic performance from Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves), this opulent historical drama, inspired by the true story of composer Joseph Bologne, brims with intrigue, romance, and sumptuous music — turning the spotlight on a brilliant Black artist whose legacy has been woefully obscured.
Featuring a magnetic performance from Kelvin Harrison Jr. (TIFF ’19’s Waves; TIFF ’19 Rising Star), this opulent historical drama, brimming with intrigue, romance, and sumptuous music, turns the spotlight on a brilliant Black composer and violinist whose legacy has been woefully obscured.
Chevalier opens with an audacious bang, as Joseph Bologne (Harrison) interrupts a Paris concert conducted by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and makes a dramatic impression on the preening genius and his fancy, 18th-century audience. From there we watch as Bologne, propelled by talent, ambition, and a drive to surmount the racist barriers all around him, climbs his way up from outcast to a place in Marie Antoinette’s inner circle. Born in Guadeloupe as the illegitimate son of an enslaved African and a white French aristocrat, Bologne grew up in Paris as a privileged but stigmatized son. He was afforded the finest education and excelled in music and fencing. But he was still Black.
As a gifted, vital young man, Bologne cuts a dashing figure at court, attracting the attention of an older woman, La Guimard (Minnie Driver). His attempts to manage her overtures, while his own desires lead him to the very married Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving), complicate any hope he has of achieving his greatest ambition: becoming the next leader of the prestigious Paris Opera.
Chevalier is a biographical drama film directed by Stephen Williams and written by Stefani Robinson. It is based on the life of the titular French-Caribbean musician Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.. The film also stars Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, and Minnie Driver. Chevalier had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022, and was released in the United States on April 7, 2023, by Searchlight Pictures.
Chevalier (2023)
Directed by: Stephen Williams
Starring: Samara Weaving, Minnie Driver, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Sian Clifford, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Alec Newman, Alex Fitzalan, Ronke Adekoluejo, Ben Bradshaw, Jessica Boone
Screenplay by: Stephen Williams
Production Design by: Karen Murphy
Cinematography by: Jess Hall
Film Editing by: John Axelrad
Costume Design by: Oliver Garcia
Set Decoration by: Lotty Sanna
Art Direction by: Gemma Randall
Music by: Kris Bowers
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic content, some strong language, suggestive material and violence.
Distributed by: Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: April 7, 2023
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