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Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, Minnie Driver
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Period bio-drama directed by Stephen Williams. Inspired by a true story, Chevalier (2023) centers on composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, who rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist, composer, and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.
Best Quotes
Mozart: For those of you who are somehow unaware, my name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Joseph: May I play with you, monsieur?
Mozart: What?
Mozart: Now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you music, featuring help from a dark stranger.
Mozart: [to Joseph, as they’re about to play together] Well, I hope this won’t be embarrassing for you.
Mozart: [after hearing Joseph play the violin] Who the f*** is that?
La Boessiere: But I fear this will not be a kind place to such a boy.
George Bologne: He’s gifted. Such gifts should not be allowed to languish on a plantation. I owe him at least that.
La Boessiere: Gifts?
George Bologne: Talents. The boy has many, but one in particular that is exceptional.
George Bologne: Joseph, this is your home now. This place may not be immediately welcoming to you, boy. But you must be excellent. Always excellent. Do not give anyone any reason to tear you down. Remember, no one may tear down an excellent Frenchman.
Philippe: Behold, France’s future. He is both angel and devil. Warrior and poet. A true son of France. My best friend. Master of the sword. Maestro of the bow. You know him well! Joseph Bologne!
Marie Antoinette: You have proven yourself to be a true man of France. I think it is finally time we reward this excellence. I, Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, hereby anoint you, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Marie Antoinette: Christoph Gluck. Yes, he’s just hopped over from Vienna. He’s putting on a concert for someone.
Joseph: Someone without ears or taste, probably.
Marie Antoinette: Joseph. So cruel.
Marie Antoinette: Joseph, do you hear? They’re playing your music.
Joseph: Well, of course they are.
Joseph: Great performance tonight, Guimard.
La Guimard: Thank you.
Joseph: There’s no finer voice in opera.
La Guimard: You’re right.
La Guimard: I think men ought to be jealous from time to time. It’s good for them. Don’t you think?
La Guimard: I think it’s time we collaborated. Meet me in my carriage, and we could have a little rehearsal.
Joseph: You are a beautiful performer, Guimard. I hope we do one day collaborate. As professionals.
La Guimard: Oh. I think you’ll find I usually get my way.
'The greatest evil is not what they have done to our bodies. It is what they have done to our minds.' - Nanon (Chevalier) Click To Tweet
Joseph: Well, now this is embarrassing.
Marie-Josephine: Pardon?
Joseph: Usually I am the most impressive person at these parties. But it seems you have stolen the focus.
Marie-Josephine: Is that right?
Joseph: I’m afraid so.
Marie-Josephine: And who might you be?
Joseph: Well, I am the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Marie-Josephine: Ah, well, congratulations to you and all of your many accomplishments. Whatever they are.
Madame De Genlis: [to Joseph, referring to Marie-Josephine] She’s captivating, is she not? My cousin.
Joseph: We were just getting acquainted.
Madame De Genlis: Uh-uh. Joseph, I promised her husband I would bring her home unscathed.
Joseph: Oh, you attack my character, Madame de Genlis. We were only talking.
Madame De Genlis: Yes. And your silver tongue leads straight to a pallet. Come along, dear.
Marie Antoinette: What will you do now that the world is yours, Chevalier? Travel the country? Lock yourself in your quarters and luxuriate in your brilliance?
Joseph: I want to lead the Paris Opera.
Marie Antoinette: Put your insatiable ambition aside. You’re a Chevalier now!
Joseph: Well, there are countless men with titles in France, but there is only one head of the Paris Opera. There is no greater post, and I want it. I can do it. I can fill that theater every night. I will put it on the map. All of Europe will be clamoring to visit the Palais Royal, and the whole world will have you to thank.
Marie Antoinette: The whole world?
Marie Antoinette: If you want to lead the Paris Opera, Joseph, I’m afraid you’ll have to prove you are the better man for the job.
Joseph: I’m Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Also a composer. Perhaps you’ve heard of me.
Christoph Gluck: Ah, yes. The show-off who spoiled Mozart’s concert.
Joseph: Spoiled? Improved, I think.
Joseph: I hear you have come to take over the Opera.
Christoph Gluck: There is talk of it.
Joseph: Well, I would hate to dash any hopes, but I fear I am the better man for the job.
Christoph Gluck: You’re very sure of yourself.
Joseph: Quite.
Joseph: Perhaps we should settle this right now and get a couple of violins.
Christoph Gluck: You’re not seriously suggesting some sort of competition?
Marie Antoinette: Yes. A contest. Who doesn’t love a little conest, hm?
Christoph Gluck: Forgive me, Your Majesty. A contest?
Marie Antoinette: Yes. For the head of the Paris Opera.
Joseph: I have never lost a bout.
Christoph Gluck: Opera is not fencing.
Nanon: [to Joseph] All that money you paid for those dresses could have bought food for the whole city.
'Choice cannot be taken away. Choice comes from within. And there is always the choice to fight.' - Nanon (Chevalier) Click To Tweet
Nanon: [to Joseph] At first, I did not believe these tales. Not my son. Not the unruly child who could not sit still for even a moment. And then I heard tales of your music. “He plays the violin. “He composes. He plays songs for the finest people in Paris.” I said, “Ah. Well, that is my son. My son was born with music in his heart, just like his mother.”
Joseph: I need the support of a seasoned professional if I am to win the approval of the committee.
Madame De Genlis: Seasoned. I am not a boiled rabbit.
Marie-Josephine: The Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Welcome.
Joseph: Ah, so you remember who I am.
Marie-Josephine: Yes. The man with all the fancy accomplishments.
Marie-Josephine: You’ve only heard me sing once. I could be terrible.
Joseph: You aren’t.
Marie-Josephine: Fine. Let us assume I’m an excellent singer and a world-class actress. Convince me.
Joseph: Of?
Marie-Josephine: Your opera. Sell it to me. You cannot expect a performer of my talents to just attach herself to any silly old thing, can you?
Marquis De Montalembert: I have designed many a fortress. It is a precise science, keeping your enemies out. But what does one do when the enemy is not found outside the fortress? What to do when the enemy was within the fortress all along?
Marquis De Montalembert: [to Joseph] France is the greatest nation in the world. In any other country, a man of your color would not be wearing such fine clothes, or be so boldly propositioning a man’s wife in his own drawing room.
Marie-Josephine: [to Joseph] It turns out I quite despise being spoken for.
Marie-Josephine: [referring to Montalembert] I’ll manage him. I will. It’ll be my burden to bear, not yours.
Joseph: Well, I’d hate for my little opera to stir a spat between lovers.
Marie-Josephine: How naive of you to think that love and marriage have anything to do with one another.
Marie-Josephine: Seem. It’s a curious word, isn’t it? I’m sure I seem a great many things. Although I am a woman of the stage. That is part of the job, isn’t it? To seem. I can play the dutiful housewife. I can pretend to enjoy all the parlors, and court, and mind-numbing chit-chat. I can pretend to not be at all troubled by my lack of autonomy. But only for so long. Perhaps when you marry, you will better understand such things.
Philippe: [referring to Marie-Josephine] Joseph. Of all the singers in Paris. Have you lost your mind? You do know who she is? You do know who she’s married to? That lunatic. Bash in skulls first, ask questions later.
Joseph: Feels treasonous.
Philippe: Well, treason is a loaded word.
Joseph: You’re a member of the royal family openly criticizing the King and the Queen. Smells like treason.
Philippe: We are simply an assembly of men sharing ideas that some may find to be…
Joseph: Radical!
Philippe: Progressive.
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