Except for Bridgerton, Black presence in a period piece usually means slave or servant. No in-between, as if that’s all we were capable of. The fact that some of us escaped slavery one way or another and went on to do great things is mainly untold, and Chevalier is a step towards rectifying that.
Chevalier tells the story of Joseph Bologne (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the illegitimate son of a plantation owner and an enslaved African who rose to prominence in France to eventually become Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a prestigious position equivalent to knighthood.
With the political assault on history in some states, the need for films that tell previously unknown Black stories is greater than ever. The great George Benson said it best in his song “The Greatest Love of All” – everybody’s searching for a hero, people need someone to look up to. Does Chevalier fulfill our need?
Ladies and gentlemen, please allow Mr. Kelvin Harrison Jr. to re-introduce himself because Chevalier is his official coming-out party. He’s led films before, but this may be the first time we see everything Harrison Jr. can do in one role. This performance is the culmination of everything anyone who’s seen Harrison Jr. act has wanted for him.
The charisma from his roles in The High Note and Cyrano. The intensity from his parts in Waves and Luce. He even handles the violin and fencing sword as if he’s a prodigy with both, like the man he portrays. It’s all there in one career-defining package, the cinematic equivalent of Tyler, the Creator’s Igor or Mac Miller’s Swimming.
The beauty of Harrison Jr.’s performance is he carries Chevalier in a way that cements his status as a leading man. From the moment he hits the screen in arguably one of the best openings on film this year, his screen presence is unlike any of his previous turns. Whether it's humor and physical skill, as shown in the opening as mentioned above, or passion and vulnerability exhibited in scenes involving Bologne’s mother, he owns it all.
Structurally, Chevalier doesn’t stray far from standard biopic fare. Except for the opening scene, the film moves linearly. It begins with a brief account of Bologne’s arrival in Europe and his adolescent experiences there. Once that’s covered, we reach the movie's core – the highs and lows of his time as Chevalier.
As vanilla as it sounds, writer Stefani Robinson’s script is anything but that. She makes Bologne’s life and the day's racial politics tangible and relevant. Robinson so deftly ties themes such as the weight of being Black in white spaces to Bologne’s 18th-century story that he could also be in 21st-century Corporate America. Black Americans in the workforce will quickly identify and relate to Bologne’s plight of fighting the Black glass ceiling or balancing being true to yourself and your people with success.
If there’s anywhere Robinson’s script trips up, it’s the time dedicated to the illicit affair between Bologne and Marie-Josephine de Montalembert (played by Samara Weaving). Their romance is undoubtedly a part of Bologne’s story but hardly the catalyst for what he went through. That extra attention takes the wind out of Chevalier’s sail several times despite Harrison Jr.’s chemistry with Weaving.
Still, Robinson makes it a bigger deal than more critical aspects of the story, such as his journey to Marie Antoinette’s inner circle or more scenes featuring his musical prowess. The adage “keep the main thing the main thing” would have gone far here.
Chevalier mostly plays it safe for a biopic and even acts as its own worst enemy at times with too much focus on an insignificant love story. Thankfully, Harrison Jr.’s incredible work in front of the camera and Robinson’s crafting of a relatable story make this unsung hero’s story entertaining and accessible.
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