Jeanne Poisson, Madame de Pompadour is a historical drama in two parts which premiered on French television in 2006.
It is a biopic of Jeanne Poisson (also known as Madame de Pompadour) who was the mistress of King Louis XV for five or six years: from 1745 to 1750 or 1751.
This drama covers the final two decades of her life: the time from 1745, when she meets the king for the first time, until the end of her life in 1764.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** English title: Madame de Pompadour:
The King’s Favourite
** Director: Robin Davis
** Writers: Alexandra de Broca, Jacques Forgeas, and Olivier Pouponneau
** Available on the website TV5 monde plus
** Language: French
** Subtitles: English, French, German, and Spanish
** Run time: 2 x 95 minutes = 190 minutes
The cast includes the following:
The first group
** Hélène de Fougerolles as Jeanne Poisson (Marquise de Pompadour) (1721-1764)
** Vincent Perez as Louis XV (1710-1774) – king of France 1715-1774
** Charlotte de Turckheim as the Queen – Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768) – Queen of France 1725-1768
** Damien Jouillerot as Le Dauphin (the crown prince) – Louis Ferdinand (1729-1765)
** Rosemarie La Volée as Princess Elisabeth (1727-1759)
** Chloé Stéfani as Princess Henriette (1727-1752)
The second group
** Romain Redler as Abel-François Poisson (1727-1781) - Marquis de Marigny – brother of Jeanne
** Yvon Back as Abbé Bernis (1715-1794) – François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis – a French cardinal and diplomat – advisor of Madame de Pompadour
** Bernard Bollet as Denis Diderot (1713-1784) – French philosopher, art critic, and writer – co-founder of, chief editor of, and main contributor to the Encyclopedia
** Elisabeth Margoni as Madame Poisson – Madeleine de La Motte – mother of Jeanne and Abel
** Patrick Haudecoeur as Dominique Guillaume Lebel (1696-1768) – first chamber servant - the personal assistant of Louis XV
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for practical purposes or dramatic reasons. But the basic story is true.
Jeanne Poisson was born in 1721. In 1741, she married Charles Guillaume le Normant d’Etiolles.
The couple had two children: a son Charles Guillaume Louis (1741-1742) and a daughter Alexandrine (1744-1754).
In 1745, she placed herself in a location where the king was going to notice her. When he did, he fell for her.
He wanted her to be his mistress, which was exactly what she had planned. Soon, she was designated as the official mistress of the king and she was installed at the Palace of Versailles.
When she began this new chapter of her life, she was legally separated from her husband.
Since she was a commoner, she could not be allowed to mingle with the other people who stayed at the palace. Only members of the elite (the nobility and the clergy) could be a part of the official royal court (except of course the staff).
In order to overcome this obstacle, the king made some arrangements, so she could become a member of the nobility with the title Marquise de Pompadour.
She was granted a house and some land, which was quite important. If the king should ever decide to dump her or if he should die before her, she was not going to be poor and homeless.
The king’s family did not welcome the new mistress, because she was not only the king’s lover. She became involved in political and economic affairs, when the king consulted her on matters of state.
In this drama, we see how her enemies try to push her out and we see how she tries to defend herself.
Jeanne was more liberal than the king. She was interested in art and culture. Among her friends were Voltaire and Denis Diderot. This fact only gave her enemies more reasons to despise her.
After five or six years, her enemies won: she was no longer the official mistress of the king. And she had to leave Versailles. Fortunately for her, she still had her title and her property. She had somewhere to go.
But the king still loved her. He missed her and he wanted her back. After a few years, they made a compromise:
Jeanne would return to Versailles, but this time she was not his mistress; she was his friend and confidante. The king’s family and her other enemies had to live with this arrangement.
Jeanne remained an important and influential person at the Palace of Versailles until she died in 1764.
Le dauphin Louis Ferdinand died in 1765, nine years before his father. He was the crown prince. He was hoping to succeed his father, but it never happened.
Louis Ferdinand was married twice. With his first wife he had one child who died as an infant. With his second wife he had several children, including three sons who all became the king of France after his death.
When Louis XV died in 1774, he was succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI who was the last king of France with absolute power.
What about the historical accuracy of this drama?
In some cases, the director has changed the chronology of events. This was probably done for dramatic reasons.
One case concerns princess Henriette. In the drama, we see her when she is dying. She is begging her father to send Madame de Pompadour away. She makes him swear to do this. This is her dying wish. Under pressure, Louis promises to do what she wants.
When did Henriette die? In 1752. When was Madame de Pompadour told to leave Versailles? In 1750 or 1751. The two events are not connected.
The king’s decision to end her role as the official mistress had nothing to do with the death of Henriette. But the director decided to connect the two events.
Another case concerns Henri Diderot. In the drama, we are told he has been arrested, because he has published (the first volume of) the Encyclopedia.
Madame de Pompadour appeals to the king. She begs him to release Diderot, because the Encyclopedia is an important work and a writer should not be punished for doing good work.
At first, the king refuses to listen to her. But after a while, he gives in to her constant pressure and he tells his staff that Diderot can be released.
In the drama, Diderot is saved from prison by Madame de
Pompadour.
Was Diderot ever arrested and sent to prison? Yes, he was arrested in 1749 following the (anonymous) publication of his Letter on the Blind. He was released after serving three month in prison.
When was the Encyclopedia published? The plan for this work was announced in 1750 and the first volume was published in 1751.
Diderot was not arrested and sent to prison because he
had published the Encyclopedia.
He was not released from prison because Madame de Pompadour begged the king to let him out.
What do reviewers say about this drama?
On IMDb it has a rating of 69 percent which corresponds to a rating of 3.5 stars on Amazon.
There is one user review of IMDb.
This review, which offers a rating of 70 percent, has the following headline:
“Pretty good introduction to the period and ambiance”
On Amazon France there are at the moment 58 ratings of this product, 30 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.7 stars which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.
I like this drama and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, there are some flaws, which cannot be ignored, so I cannot go all the way to the top.
In my opinion, the rating on IMDb is too low, while the rating on Amazon is too high. I think this product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
Madame de Pompadour
By Nancy Mitford
1954
Madame de Pompadour:
Images of a Mistress
By Colin James
2002
Madame de Pompadour:
Mistress of France
By Christine Pevitt Algrant
2003
Madame de Pompadour:
The Making of a Mistress
By Nichole Dapelo
2017
# 2. Film and video
The Rise and Fall of Versailles
A docudrama which premiered in 2008
There are three parts:
** Part one = Louis XIV
** Part two = Louis XV
** Part three = Louis XVI
My review of this docudrama was posted in January 2022. Here is a link:
The Rise and Fall of Versailles
Jeanne du Barry
A historical drama which premiered in 2023
Run time = 119 minutes
It is a biopic of Jeanne du Barry (1743-1793) who was the mistress of King Louis XV during the final years of his life (1768-1774)
*****
Jeanne Poisson
Marquise de Pompadour
(1721-1764)
Painted ca. 1755
by the Dutch painter
Charles Andre Van Loo
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment