

Marquise is a drama about the rise and fall of a beauteous actress. As cheerfully portrayed by Sophie Marceau, the eponymous heroine is an engagingly ribald, but perhaps rather too modern, character. She rises from an impoverished background to become a favourite of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and the mistress of the celebrated Racine, who wrote roles especially for her; but her fate, in the end, is a tragic one.
Acting
Marceau's committed chaos—she's either brilliant or unhinged, possibly both.
Costume
Absurdly gorgeous 17th-century fits that scream 'I have consumption and I'm hot.'
Production
Versailles on a budget, but the theatre scenes feel deliciously lived-in.

Director
Véra Belmont
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sophie Marceau learned to dance, fence, and recite Racine's alexandrines for the role—then spent years claiming she couldn't remember filming half of it.
Director Véra Belmont was one of few women making French historical epics in the '90s; critics mostly ignored her while praising male directors for lesser work.