July 14, 1789: the French people take the Bastille. The news reaches the court only in snatches, such as the list of those whose heads will soon roll. The queen (Diane Kruger) is second on the list, followed by many others, including the Marquise de Pompadour (Virginie Ledoyen) with whom she has a passionate, almost sexual relationship. There is little time left to say goodbye, to make one's peace and to pack the necessary and the superfluous. Three days in which, behind the powdered masks of this aristocracy in decline, real faces will be revealed. One of these is Sidonie Laborde (Léa Seydoux), the sweet official reader to the queen whose ardor has no limits.

Director Benoît Jacquot follows the hurried daily duties of the faithful reader for a female look at this historical event and the complexity of the relationship between those who were born well and those who were born to serve and entertain them. A gentle look at the intimacies of court life with enough realism to let viewers observe the last moments of their fate without getting caught up in the decorum of the area. A down-to-earth costume drama that is strongly emotional but not melodramatic.