Now Showing: Love, Death, Revolution

 

Love, Death, Revolution

Genre: Drama / Romance / Historical

Director: Garth Davis

Writer: Ben Collins

Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Joseph Quinn, Madelaine Petsch, Cameron Monaghan, Rosamund Pike, Emory Cohen, Madeleine Arthur, Kylie Rogers

Plot: The scene opens with a view of the palace of Marie Claire de la Motte (Rosamund Pike), a wealthy countess. an orchestra plays and carriages of nobles arrive at a party. The birthday dance of the eldest daughter Vivienne (Madeleine Arthur) is taking place. Stephanie (Kiernan Shipka), the countess' other young and beautiful daughter, wears a light blue dress and a pearl necklace. She seems bored. A young officer asks her to dance. She reluctantly accepts. As they dance, her eyes wander around the room until she saw Pierre (Joseph Quinn), her personal servant. He and Stephanie have known each other since they were children and fell in love in secret. Pierre notices Stephanie's gaze and nods his head inviting Stephanie to leave the ballroom. As Stephanie exits the ballroom she orders her young lady-in-waiting Caroline (Kylie Rogers) to warn her if anyone is looking for her and lie to her by saying she went to the bathroom. From a distance her mother shakes her head nervously as she sees Stephanie running away.

Stephanie and Pierre meet secretly in the palace garden and embrace each other with a kiss. They sit under a tree where their initials had been carved into the bark. They begin to quietly talk about their lives, their dreams, their fears, confiding their feelings and declaring their love. Pierre tells her that the people's discontent towards the royals and the nobles is growing more and more every day and all hell could break out any day now. She is surprised because she didn't think the situation was so serious and he then shows her a letter from one of her friends, a dancer named Annette. At that point the two loved ones kiss each other sweetly and hug each other tightly, telling each other that they must be ready to run away together, that they must be cautious and begin to think of ways to escape if things take a turn for the worse. Finally they tell each other that they love each other and that nothing can separate them. The two are interrupted by Caroline who tells them that her mother is looking for her and she seems angry. Pierre hides in a bush while Stephanie and her lady-in-waiting go to meet Mary-Claire who is arriving there.

Mary-Claire begins to scold her daughter, telling her that that dance was also supposed to help her find a rich man to marry. Stephanie says that she chose who she will marry a long time ago. The woman says that it's nonsense, giving an angry look at the bush where Pierre is hidden, because not being stupid she had noticed that he is hidden there. She tells one of the guards that she wants Pierre to be removed from the building the next day. Marie Claire and Stephanie return to the lounge. They receive compliments and praise for their beauty and charm. Stephanie smiles and thanks but she feels completely out of place there, not sharing the same spirit of the nobles, who ignore the suffering of the people and the threat of revolution. She would prefer the simplicity and sincerity of Pierre, who loves her for who she is and not for what she has. She tries to spot Pierre among the servants, but she doesn't see him. Vivienne prepares to cut the birthday cake. Stephanie's gaze is lost for a moment in the distance, seeing smoke in the city.

The scene shifts to a tavern in the city where members of the Jacobin club have gathered. The revolutionaries are seen drinking, singing, arguing and planning their actions. Inside, dancers perform on the stage, wearing colorful costumes, which recall the symbols of the revolution. They perform lively, transmitting their message of hope and change to the public. Among the dancers there is Annette (Madelaine Petsch), a beautiful girl with fiery red hair who moves on the stage in a sinuous manner. When the dances end the climate inside the tavern changes. A fiery revolutionary named Francis (Cameron Monaghan), Annette's brother, the head of the club and one of the revolution's most ardent supporters. The boy denounces the king, the nobility and the clergy as the enemies of the people. Francis incites his companions to take up arms and march towards the Bastille, the prison symbol of despotism, promising them victory and glory. 

The next day in Paris, a demonstration against the king and the nobility is taking place. You can see the revolutionaries waving the tricolor flags and singing the Marseillaise. In the crowd, you notice Annette singing and dancing in the streets. Annette has been in love with Pierre since she was a child, but he does not love her back and she knows that he is in love with someone, but she does not imagine that it is Countess Stephanie. Annette hopes to win him over with her beauty and talent. While she dances, she tries to spot Pierre in the crowd. Suddenly she sees him arrive, dressed as a servant. He just got sent out of the building by Marie Claire, where he got some food and some money. He and Stephanie have decided to abandon their roles as servant and countess and live their love, even at the cost of facing the dangers of the revolution. Annette sees Pierre and runs towards him, happy to see him again. He greets her without enthusiasm. She asks him where she is going and what she has in her bag and he answers her vaguely, saying that he has an errand to run. She insists on knowing more, but he tries to get away without saying anything. She realizes that he is hiding something and gets jealous. She tells him that she loves him, she has always loved him and that she would like to be with him now that the monarchy and the nobles will soon lose their power. He tells her that he doesn't feel the same about her. She gets a little nervous and asks him if there is someone else. He denies it, but she doesn't believe him much and he leaves with an excuse. She tries to follow him but loses him in the crowd. She comes back with a grimace and meets her brother Francis who saw the scene. He orders his sister to leave Pierre alone. At that point she reflects on what will become of Pierre if there is a Revolution, whether he too would be imprisoned or worse.

A room is shrouded in quiet darkness, lit only by a candle next to Stephanie's bed. Vivienne sits next to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Stephanie tries to find the words to express what weighs on her soul. She reveals to Vivienne her secret love for Pierre. Vivienne listens with understanding. Vivienne promises to support Stephanie, encouraging her in her desire to elope with Pierre. 

Stephanie wakes up slowly. Stephanie's gaze falls on the scene before her: her mother, Marie-Claire, is sitting next to a man with a worried expression on her face. Stephanie furtively listens to the conversation, trying to decipher the whispered words. Marie-Claire's worried face turns towards her daughters. Her sudden announcement makes Stephanie and Vivienne shiver: they must prepare to escape, quickly, before the situation in the city becomes unmanageable because some nobles have already been arrested. The frenzy of the sudden escape spreads through the room, as the two sisters hastily gather a few personal possessions, filling bags with their most precious possessions. Shortly after, the three women find themselves outside, ready to board the carriage together with a small group of other nobles that will take them safely to England where Marie-Claire has some contacts.

As the carriage slowly drives away, Stephanie spots Pierre walking down the street. She shouts to stop the carriage, ignoring her mother's pleas to stay. Pierre and Stephanie hug each other forcefully and kiss. After a few seconds, he hears the countess' cries and tells her to get back into the carriage that will take them to safety. The girl shakes her head but at a certain point she seems to be convinced. She runs towards her mother and sister but instead of getting in she gives them a final hug and slaps the horse to start the carriage again. Vivienne reassures her mother until at a certain point, near the pier, they are stopped by a group of revolutionaries leading by Francis determined to stop anyone who tries to escape. The passengers show them their documents. Marie-Claire, in a noble and high-class manner, gets out of the carriage and tries to convince the group of rioters to let them pass. However, she knows that she will be of no use but she tries to attract their attention to make Vivienne escape but she is seen running away. In the ensuing chaos, the young girl is pushed to the ground and accidentally hits her head on a stone, the sound of the impact echoing in the air. The silence that follows is broken only by Marie-Claire's heartbreaking cry as she watches her daughter take her last breath in her arms with her blood pouring from her head. Marie-Claire is arrested, along with the other nobles present in the carriage.

The scene shifts to a small hideout, a safe haven that Pierre and Stephanie have found to be together. Dim light penetrates through the cracks of the dirty windows, barely illuminating the shabby room. Stephanie, dressed in humble clothing, is sitting on an old wooden chair, while Pierre is next to her. She looks out the window, lost in thoughts of her, while Pierre looks at her with love and sweetness. Stephanie, with her eyes veiled in melancholy, thinks of her mother and sister, hoping that they are finally safe in England, obviously unaware of what has happened. The hideout is a modest, dilapidated house located just outside Paris, furnished with a few pieces of furniture and poor quality objects that Pierre knew as it belonged to an old relative who had recently died. Despite the poverty of the environments, Pierre and Stephanie find a reflection of their normality there. Pierre, seeing his beloved sad and thoughtful, tries to revive her. The two laugh together, play like children and clean the house, transforming the daily routine into a moment of intimacy and complicity. Tired but happy, they find themselves on the narrow bed, hugging each other. Their laughter turns into sweet whispers as they exchange promises of eternal love. Pierre suddenly notices a nasty cut on Stephanie's hand, which worries him a little. However, Stephanie reassures him with a radiant smile, explaining that he hurt himself cleaning the house and that she immediately cleaned the wound with water. Then they drift off to sleep in each other's arms, letting the warmth and security of their love envelop them in the tranquility of the night.

The scene opens in the Bastille prison, with dark and dirty cells, where the prisoners suffer from hunger, cold and sometimes torture. A ray of dim light filters through the bars of a window, faintly illuminating a female figure. Suddenly, the camera focuses on Marie-Claire who opens her eyes suddenly, probably awakening from a brief moment of rest or from a moment in which she was totally absorbed in her thoughts. Marie-Claire, like all prisoners, is accused of treason and was sentenced to death. Although she is weak about the situation and sad about the death of her eldest daughter Vivienne, she tries to maintain a certain composure in her manner and avoid panicking. As she sits on the floor with her legs crossed, she thinks back to Stephanie, hoping that she is okay, even though she knows she will never see her again. At that moment, she receives a visit from a priest, who offers her confession and communion. Marie-Claire accepts and tells him her story, confessing that she loves her daughters more than anything. The priest comforts her, praising her courage and generosity, and promises to pray for her and her family. After giving her his blessing, the priest goes away to say the last prayer for another prisoner. Marie-Claire remains alone in her cell, awaiting her execution. Moments later, the cell doors are forcefully opened as Revolutionary Guard soldiers burst into the corridors. The woman clasps her hands, ready to face whatever may happen. The men, with grim and armed faces, advance along the corridors, reading the names of those who will be executed that day and hurling curses at them. One of them approaches Marie-Claire's cell, illuminating it with a harsh light. The soldier's cold gaze falls on her as he asks if she is ready for her execution. She nods firmly as she stands up, maintaining her composure. As the soldiers lead her out of her cell, Marie-Claire takes one last look at her home of captivity, knowing that she will never return to that place of torment and despair. Her footsteps echo on the stone floors as she is carried to the exit and placed on the wagon that will take her and the other prisoners to the guillotine. During the journey, she notices the presence of the young lady-in-waiting Caroline who is crying desperately. Marie-Claire gathers her close, trying to reassure her and asks her to tell her about the relationship between Stephanie and Pierre. The woman listens to the young woman's stories with a smile, while the cart arrives at the place of her execution, "Place de la Concorde".

Meanwhile, the two lovers awaken in their humble hideout, wrapped in each other's arms. Pierre whispers in Stephanie's ear that he was going out to get some food and see what the situation is like in Paris. Stephanie, with a tired and slightly pained expression, gets out of bed and hugs Pierre, expressing her concern for the tumultuous situation in the city. When Pierre leaves she looks at her hand and changes the bandage. Pierre arrives in Paris and walks the streets, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the day. The sound of guillotine bells echoes in the distance, as the streets are crowded with people heading towards the "Place de la Concorde" to witness the executions. Pierre makes his way through the crowd while he retrieves some bread and vegetables. Pierre meets Annette and she asks him how she is and then, almost timidly, how he is proceeding with her girlfriend, unaware of the girl's identity. Pierre, trying to hide her agitation, says that they are out of town caring for a sick aunt. Meanwhile they see groups of indignant revolutionaries shouting protest slogans against the nobles. Pierre and Annette come across an elderly man who begs the revolutionary soldiers for mercy. The man kneels before them, pleading for the life of his son, who was unjustly convicted. Pierre is shocked by the scene and tries to intervene, but is rudely rejected by the guards. The man is dragged away, leaving Pierre with a sense of helplessness and anger. Arriving at the "Place de la Concorde", Pierre is overwhelmed by horror when he witnesses the executions. Suddenly he sees the lady-in-waiting of his beloved, Caroline, come on stage in tears followed immediately by Marie-Claire with a proud look. A few seconds later the guillotine blade shining in the sunlight does its job. The crowd noise turns to a heavy silence as the blades fall, followed by the dull sound of heads rolling into baskets. A moment later the roar of the crowd precedes the arrival of new death row inmates. but she too is shocked by the cruelty of events. While the bodies of Marie-Claire and Caroline are led away, Annette turns towards Pierre for a moment with a look of compassion when she realizes that they were Pierre's old masters, who remains completely petrified for a few moments. After the executions are over, Pierre and Annette leave the square. The two say goodbye as Pierre feels the weight of the world on his shoulders as he returns to the hideout, knowing that he will face the difficult challenge of telling Stephanie the truth about what happened to her family.

Pierre sneaks back into the hideout, carrying with him a bag of supplies from a shop. His expression is tense and worried as he watches the leaden sky prepare for an imminent storm. Stephanie, sitting near the window, darkly observes the landscape that is lost in the fog, her gaze lost in her thoughts. Pierre approaches her with caution, trying to hide the harsh truth of what he saw in the city. However, the weight of the information he carries weighs on him, making it difficult to even face Stephanie's gaze. As Pierre attempts to bring some normality back to their refuge, placing the stolen food on the table and lighting a candle to illuminate the room, Stephanie approaches him with a somber expression. She seems to have sensed that there is something Pierre isn't telling her, and her concern grows with every second of silence. Pierre tries to maintain a calm appearance, but at that moment, thunder rumbles in the sky, followed by a strong flash of lightning that lights up the room. Pierre realizes that he can no longer postpone the discussion. He approaches Stephanie and finally, with difficulty and with a trembling voice, begins to tell her what he saw in the city. Stephanie opens her eyes wide and reacts with dismay and desperation while Pierre tries to console her with affectionate gestures and words of comfort. The storm rages outside as the two lovers face the cruel reality of their situation. At that moment Stephanie faints and she grabs onto the chair to keep from falling to the floor. Pierre approaches and supports her but realizes that her beloved appears to be ill, her forehead is very hot and he realizes that she has a very high fever. Pierre thinks about the wound on her hand, removes the bandage and notices with concern that her wound has swollen and become infected. He helps her settle into bed while he tries to clean her wound trying to disinfect it with what she has hoping that the situation will improve for her while she has a high fever while she cries for her mother and her sister. After a while the situation doesn't get better, before it's too late he tells her to stay there and not move, he tells her that she will be back soon with something to heal her. He kisses her forehead and tells her to trust her and runs out of her hideout where they are hiding.

Annette and Francis' house is a modest apartment in a working-class neighborhood of Paris. The peeling walls and worn furniture testify to the modesty of their life. Francis is sitting at a wooden table, immersed in reading leaflets that praise the Revolution and violence. His face is dark and concentrated, as he traces the words on the yellowed sheets of paper with his finger. Annette enters the room, bringing with her a jug of water and some glass glasses and then a sort of dinner with the little they have available. The din of the crowd and the screams coming from the street become increasingly louder, a sign of a demonstration in progress. Francis, animated by a sense of duty and revolutionary fervor, jumps up, determined to join the crowd. Annette, worried for her brother but also for the general situation, follows him with an anxious look, aware of the risks involved in those tumultuous demonstrations.

Pierre runs desperately through the streets of Paris, his heart clenched in anguish as he frantically searches for someone who can help him. The air is thick with tension and the sound of Pierre's labored steps is lost in the din of the crowd pouring into the city streets. Suddenly, his gaze falls on the arrest of a doctor, dragged away by the revolutionary guard among whom he recognizes Francis. Pierre stops suddenly, observing the scene with dismay as the doctor is dragged away, accused of hiding wanted people. He doesn't know where to turn for help, and the fear of being captured begins to oppress him. It is at that moment that, among the crowd, he glimpses Annette, her familiar face emerging like a ray of hope. Pierre approaches Annette, begging her to help him. He does not mention Stephanie's name, hiding her true identity, but describes her loved one as seriously ill and in need of urgent care. Annette, despite her poorly concealed jealousy, agrees to help. Annette sends Pierre home telling him that she would be there in an hour. Retrieving ointments and medicines from some trusted friends, Annette rushes to the hideout of Pierre and his beloved. After leaving care and meeting her girlfriend he seems to have doubts and without revealing her suspicion about Stephanie's true identity, Annette quickly leaves while Stephanie's fever seems to lower. Shortly afterwards the two hear light noises coming from outside.

Annette returns home after spending the afternoon with Pierre and Stephanie. As she crosses the threshold of the house, she finds Francis waiting for her with a stern and questioning look. In no uncertain terms, he questions her about where she has been and what she has done with her. Annette, trying to keep her calm, lies to her by saying that she was dancing with her company, trying to hide the agitation that pervades her. Francis, while recognizing her ability to propagate revolutionary ideals, is not fooled and asks her if she has met anyone interesting. Annette, feeling trapped, denies it, but her brother, determined to discover her truth, reveals to her that he followed her, that he saw everything that happened and that he had already notified the right people about her. Francis' confession throws Annette into total confusion as she realizes she has been discovered. With a harsh and accusatory voice, Francis reveals to her about Annette. She finds herself shocked and frightened by the revelation of her brother, unable to understand how he could betray her in that way. In desperation and anger, Annette begs her brother not to make that extreme gesture, but Francis, undaunted in her conviction, treats her coldly, claiming that Pierre is a traitor and that her lover is a enemy of the revolution. The boy remains adamant in his decision, believing that the two must pay for their alleged crimes. Annette accuses her brother of having become a monster, refusing to believe that he could be so ruthless and gives him a hard slap on the cheek. Francis, in turn, considers her a fool, convinced that her duty is to protect the revolution at any cost. Then she runs out to go to the hiding place of the two lovers, hoping that it is not too late.

The sun has now set. Annette runs towards the hiding place of the two lovers to warn them, hoping to find Pierre and Stephanie still safe. A half smile crosses her face because in the distance it seems to her that there is no one around the house. Suddenly, however, the door of the house opens. Pierre and Stephanie leave escorted by about ten men. Annette drops to the ground disconsolately while she watches the scene from a distance. Stephanie's desperate cries ring out as she half-heartedly tries to wriggle away from the men who forcefully hold her while Pierre, with blank eyes, searches for Stephanie's gaze. Their hands barely touch before they are separated forever. The camera pulls away as it shows the two loved ones being put on two different carriages to be taken towards their destiny.