Princess Castle Bed

Yet Tavernier resists the temptation portray the titular character, Marie de Mézières (Mélanie Thierry), as a proto-feminist. By the time we catch sight of the Marie – dangling on the arm of scar-faced warrior Henri de Guise (Gaspard Ulliel), one of four noblemen ensnared by her beauty and quiet intelligence – we know she is merely chattel.

Her father has just “traded her up” to a more prestigious marriage to Prince de Montpensier (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet), negotiated in a hilarious scene as cutthroat as any modern backroom deal. And their wedding night is about as romantic as a trip to Wal-Mart, parents and servants hovering just outside the bed curtains while the union is consummated and Marie is (hurrah!) proven a virgin.

But Montpensier is soon called to war. He leaves Marie at his most remote castle in the trustworthy care of his former tutor Comte de Chabannes (Lambert Wilson), who is charged with preparing her for life at the royal court.

In the film’s riveting opening scene, Chabannes, the equivalent of a modern mercenary, slays a pregnant woman in battle and decides to lay down his sword. He needs to stay off the radar, so the gig educating his friend’s young wife seems like a good idea .

Driven by Wilson’s arresting performance, Chabannes becomes the emotional soul of the film. He’s a poet, yet possesses many practical skills – and, like the viewer, realizes Marie’s combination of beauty, wit and insatiable curiosity will be her undoing, even as he encourages her education. When her husband, de Guise and the heir to the throne, Duc d’Anjou (Raphaël Personnaz), instantly smitten by Marie’s charms, all descend on the castle, Chabannes prevents catastrophe.