330. Mathilde (Matilda); movie review

MATHILDE (MATILDA)
Cert 15
109 mins
BBFC advice: Contains brief strong sex

It would be fair to say that I was enticed by the beauty and the drama of Mathilde but I was left asking big questions about the truth of its story.
I am not the only one - the Russian Orthodox Church has been less than pleased by the portrayal of Nicholas II and there have even been threats to burn down cinemas!
Aleksey Uchitel's tale of the love between the heir to the Russian throne and a ballet dancer is lavish and dazzling but it pushes its drama way beyond the possibility of reality.
Indeed, it is a pity that its over-the-top finale should prompt groans rather than cheers.
It is true that Mathilde (Michalina Olszanska) was a beauty who had numerous affairs with the elite of pre-revolution Russian society.
But this film turns historical fact into wild speculation and downright fiction.
Nevertheless, Olszanska plays her with panache as a Machiavellian beauty who sets out to snare a prince without fully understanding the consequences.
Meanwhile, Lars Eidinger portrays Nicholas as a naive heir who believes he can defy tradition and his mother.
The costumes are eye-popping as is the recreation of the ostentation around the aristocracy which prompted revolution.
However, the melodrama is rather overplayed and the characters become predictable. So, the mistress flirts, the prince is daft as a brush, the emperor is tough but ill, the empress is an interfering know-it-all and the prince's potential wife is not as pretty as the ballet dancer.
Yes, it sounds like the 70s TV series, Edward VII and myriad period dramas which have focused on royal families.
Sadly, it only touches on the bubbling anger of Russia's people which eventually led to the killings of Nicholas and his family.
To ignore that and overblow a romance seems more than a tad out of place.

Reasons to watch: Enticing Russia historical melodrama
Reasons to avoid: Plays fast and loose with the facts

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 6/10

Director quote - Aleksey Uchitel: "“There’s this wave of small protest groups who claim to be representatives of Orthodoxy — the ones who threatened to burn cinemas, who set cars on fire,” he says. “Thankfully everyone was arrested and nothing else happened."

The big question - Why does cinema prompt religious fanatics to be so outraged?

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