Marie Antoinette Review
by Tim Voon (winklebeck AT hotmail DOT com)December 31st, 2006
Marie Antoinette (2006)
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 2006 Timothy Voon
3 out of 5 stars
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Steve Coogan
'Marie Antoinette' is an excellent exercise in style. If you are looking for a historical masterpiece about the life of this notorious French Queen, do not look here. However, if you are interested in the fashions, frivolity and foods of the past era this movie is tailored made for you.
Director, Sofia Coppola has put a lot of time and effort into set designs and costumes. 'Versailles', the summer palace of the French Kings has been wonderfully restored for this film (although I do not remember seeing the Hall of Mirrors). One of my memories of 'Versailles', when I last visited 4 years ago, was of the smell of urine in the hallways. This ostentatious palace was trashed by the angry mobs after they stormed it and dethroned the King and Queen a few centuries ago. The costumes of the periods are immaculately reproduced in great detail and are one of the movie's highlights, along with unusual mixture of classical, operatic and modern tunes.
However, what I found lacking in his movie was 'heart'. I didn't particular care if the King or Queen of France lived or died. In fact an enormous amount of time was spent examining how decadent and privileged they were. Especially Marie Antoinette, who whittled her time away with endless parties, cakes, pastries, jewelry, numerous commissioned portraits, endless shoes and dresses, over the top hair dos, diamonds, self glorifying sage productions, excess food and wine, gambling and the occasional extramarital affair. It isn't surprising that history books sometimes make her out as a villain, and along with France's involvement with the American War of Independence, she has been partly blamed for the French Revolution and the multiple beheadings of French Aristocrats.
In fact, I believe Sofia Coppola has been very kind with her portrayal of 'Marie Antoinette' and 'Louis XVI'. She basically skims over their major personality flaws that is self obsession and over indulgence, but instead shows them as almost innocent, naïve bystanders of the French Revolution. Just because they were brought up in a life of luxury and privilege, does not excuse them from the fact that they were responsible for running an entire country. I guess partly to blame is the fact that they were so out of touch with their own people, living in an entirely sheltered, exotic world that was 'Versailles', they did not see the Revolution coming a mile away. The fact that almost every other French King used their country's coffers as their own personal piggy bank did not help the matter.
Kirsten Dunst is excellent as the innocent, child-like looking French Queen, with an insatiable thirst for food, fashion and frivolity. However, this movie's 'prettiness' is only skin deep and fails to shed any new light on a famously notorious, historical character.
Timothy Voon
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