Mayerling: A Sad, Heavy Kind of Love

Is it worth the time?

If you like your period dramas dripping with melancholy and slightly dusty, you will probably dig Mayerling. It’s not for the casual viewer who wants constant movement or snappy dialogue. It is a movie that sits in the corner, nursing a drink and sighing heavily. If you have no patience for 1930s pacing, stay far away.

Charles Boyer plays Rodolphe like a man who is already tired of breathing. He is the Crown Prince of Austria, and he looks like he’d rather be literally anywhere else. Every room he enters feels like a cage.

Then comes Marie, played by Danielle Darrieux. She is seventeen and possesses that specific kind of stubbornness that only comes with being young and absolutely convinced of your own tragedy. They meet, they stare, and you can see the doom written on their faces from the start. It’s not a surprise, really. The whole film feels like it’s waiting for the inevitable.

Oddly Specific Notes

• The uniforms are stiff. You can practically hear them creaking every time someone bows.
• There is a scene in a restaurant that goes on for a lifetime. I think I counted three different glasses of wine being poured before anyone said a word.
• The lighting in the ballroom is surprisingly hazy. It makes everyone look like they are underwater or drifting through a dream.
• Rodolphe’s father, the Emperor, is just a giant wall of mustache and scowling. He barely says anything, but he manages to make the entire screen feel smaller.

It’s funny, the movie doesn't try to explain *why* they love each other so much. It just assumes you know. They share a look, maybe a whispered sentence about the stars or the cold, and suddenly they are willing to throw everything away. It’s almost irresponsible. I liked that about it.

It feels a bit like watching The Necessary Evil in terms of its dark, heavy mood, though the stakes here feel much more expensive and velvet-covered. It isn't as light-hearted as some of the stuff you'd find in Let's Be Fashionable, obviously. This is serious business.

The film doesn't bother with subplots that don't lead directly to the grave. It’s single-minded. Sometimes that makes the middle section sag like an old mattress. But then there’s a moment—a small, quiet look between them—and you’re back in it.

It’s not a perfect film. It’s a bit suffocating. But that’s the point, I guess. You’re supposed to feel the weight of those palace walls. You’re supposed to want to run away with them, even if you know exactly how it’s going to end. It’s a sad little trip. Worth the ride if you’re in the right mood. 🍷🥀