Monstrous and Imperial: Jude Law and Alicia Vikander’s Crazy Interpretations of Cannes 2023

Firebrand – The Queen’s Game may have been a classic historical drama, but director Karim Ainouz’s new film is much more complicated than that. Shortlisted for Official Competition, this film, written by Jessica and Henrietta Ashworth, tells the story of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII.

She is aware of the constant danger of marrying this king, as her previous spouses were either rejected or beheaded (only one died of illness). With the help of his ladies, he tries to foil the traps set for him by the bishop, the court and the king…

The Queen’s Game paints a portrait of a rebellious queen who is convinced of the need for a freer and more modern world to combat the abuse of power by the men around her.

A true thriller where the intelligent and daring Catherine Belle is a prisoner of Henry VIII’s prison, a hideous and violent monster, this film also explores the mystical side, both with hypnotic settings and narrative.

Following the journey of Catherine and her ladies-in-waiting, the film highlights the power of sisterhood against the violence of a witch hunt led by the brazen false morality of men in high places.

The feature film also portrays it in a naturalistic and authentic way, with gruesome close-up scenes of deep cuts or wounds, but also more colorful dance scenes and lively and intensely experienced musical compositions.

Crazy performances by Alicia Vikander and Jude Law

What distinguishes Le Jeu de la Reine above all else in competition at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is the performance of the two main actors, Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parry in leather and Jude Law as Henry VIII.

Their performance deserves a lot of attention from the Cannes Film Festival jury members. Can they give one of the two actors the acting prize?

Jude Law was 100% invested in his role in any case, especially since he used a special technique to get into the skin of his character as a disgusting and lame king. An amazing trick, about which Alicia Vikander told us in an interview:

“Jude has had this way of working that she’s used on several projects involving her perfumes. She has a perfumer in London who makes perfumes that suit her characters to really feel them.

But for Faybrand, he read that Henry VIII’s stench, according to the history books, the prison inmates could smell due to his extreme infection three rooms below, was simply horrifying.

So he made his perfume to replicate these scents. It was the most disgusting thing in the world. So when Judy came in after rehearsal and started playing with me and got closer to me, I was shocked and disgusted. It adds a lot of intensity to the scene.”

In addition to this olfactory attraction – a perfume that mixes blood, excrement and sweat, as he revealed at a press conference – Jude Law literally transformed into a hideous beast to portray Henry VIII.

His impressive build, elaborate costumes and the way he moved were executed with great precision and great strength. And the actor has never been as fierce and scary as in this main role.

Alicia Vikander, on the other hand, is imperious in Kathryn Parry’s shoes and impressive with her acting range. Director Karim Ainuz, who also met at the Cannes Film Festival, explained why the Swedish actor was chosen for this role:

“Alicia has a very modern body, look, and soul. And that touch of modernity was important to me. And she also has a lot of mystery. I thought it would be interesting to not necessarily cast an actress who has the look of Kathryn Parr, but rather someone who has can bring us closer to the past. Also, the fact that he’s not English, that really intrigued me.”

In order to understand her role, Alicia Vikander mainly focused on intense psychological and physical training, because she wanted this film to emphasize the torture, danger and pressure that Catherine Parr experienced in her relationship. Toxic with Henry VIII:

“There was a lot of obvious historical preparation, books I could read. We had fantastic speakers come to talk to us and answer all our questions.

But for me, what really drew me to this film was the fact that Karim really wanted to tell an emotional story that was quite contemporary in the sense that he wanted to focus on the very intimate relationship between him and Henry. It’s not just drama in royal costumes. This is the story of a woman who survived an extremely abusive relationship.”

The movie Firebrand – The Queen’s Game does not have a release date in France yet.