One of the joys of the last few years has been watching the rise of Vicky Krieps since her breakout role in 2017’s Phantom Thread. Since then, the accomplished Luxembourgish actress has made her way into the American mainstream with roles in Old, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, and The Survivor. And now she’s setting her sights on the awards season with Corsage, an Austrian drama that earned Krieps the Best Performance prize in the Un Certain Regard block.
Krieps, who also serves as exec-producer, stars as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the 19th-century ruler who led for 44 years, the longest of any Austrian empress. The film picks up at her 40th birthday, as she tries to establish her legacy as the constraints of leadership close tighter around her.
The film is directed by Marie Kreutzer, working from her own screenplay. Also in the cast are Florian Teichtmeister, Katharina Lorenz, and Jeanne Werner.
Corsage opens in theaters on December 23rd.
Written and directed by Kreutzer, CORSAGE follows Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Krieps), one of the most magnetic royals of the 19th century, who was idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, ‘Sisi’ celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset ever tighter. While Elisabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna. She travels to England and Bavaria, visiting former lovers and old friends, seeking the excitement and purpose of her youth. With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out in front of her, Elisabeth rebels against the hyperbolized image of herself and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy.
