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Movie Reviews, & Film Industry Commentary
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2006 – PG-13 – 122 min.
Director: Sophia Coppola
Primary Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston
Stars *** 1/2 (of 5)
Popcorn *** (of 5)
Film Type(s): Drama, Period, Romance
Synopsis: In the late 18th Century, a 14-year old Marie Antoinette (Dunst) is forced to leave her home in Austria in an arranged marriage by King Louis XV (Torn) to his 15-year old son Louis XVI (Coppola regular Schwartzman). In spite of being stripped of her former life, Marie tries to make the best of it, even if the marriage is never consummated. Rumor and innuendo surround her and her marriage about the possible reasons, including late night partying, that an heir has not been born. While Marie enjoys the pleasures of the palace, the pressure increases when the King dies in his mistress’ bed and Marie becomes the Queen of France. After finally conceiving when Marie’s brother, Joseph (Huston), coaches Louis things begin to fall apart in France with its disenfranchised public. In spite of Marie’s charitable work and efforts, rumor still spreads unfounded of exuberant spending and her telling the poor to “eat cake”. While she insists on no such thing happening, the public still wants their revolution. The film’s costume design, based on the deserts of the French court, won an Oscar for designer Milena Canonero.
Review: In Sofia Coppola’s vision of Marie Antoinette’s (Dunst) time in the French court she basically created Amadeus for teenage girls (especially the ones from the 1980’s). Some of it seems almost absurd it that some of it weren’t also true, here essentially combining Barry Lyndon, Amadeus, and The Breakfast Club. Coppola’s gimmick is that she makes Antoinette accessible by portraying her as a rock star of the day, complete with a soundtrack (in place of source music) that’s more likely to be heard in a John Hughes film than in 18th Century France. While this is a much better attempt at such a formula than previous attempts like A Knight’s Tale (2001), the gimmick actually works as a disarming tool. Don’t get me wrong, though. The scenery, costumes, and events are fascinating, but the all American cast doesn’t quite gel where they need to and, although all seem to be having a good time, one can’t help but feel that they should be in a modern comedy drama rather than a semi-serious period film. (Louis XV with a Texas drawl, anyone?) While the film leaves out the 11th hour finale, is does well in illustrating bad press and propaganda run amok. Filmed on location at Versailles, the film was also produced by Sofia’s father, Francis Ford Coppola.
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