MARIE ANTOINETTE: YOUTH INDULGENCE AT ITS BEST
BY
STEPHANIE M. WILSON
Marie Antoinette is a lavish look at Marie Antoinette’s lifestyle as opposed to her reign as France’s queen. Sofia Coppola’s telling focuses on Antoinette’s love of fashion, the pressure to bore France a son, and her eventual downfall due to her shallowness. The beautiful costumes won the Oscar at the 2007 Academy Awards. But the acting leaves something to be desired. Versailles, the costumes, and pastries almost make up for it.
Marie Antoinette of Austria (Kirsten Dunst) is to marry Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman) to better the relationship between Austria and France. She is stripped of everything pertaining to Austria once she arrives in France. She receives the cold shoulder upon arrival. Louis has no interest in consummating their marriage. Rejected, Marie turns to extravagant gowns and delicious desserts to occupy her time with her ladies in waiting. She lives life as if she has no responsibility. This will eventually have its consequences.
Story takes a unique angle at this historic queen. Coppola treats her like a teenager.
The movie is more of a teen drama. In the scene where Antoinette convinces her girls and guys to sneak away to a masked ball that they haven’t been invited to, you feel as if you are watching high school kids break curfew. The infamous quote “Let them eat cake” is treated as gossip that was started by tabloid like press. Dunst and Schwartzman are believable with the awkwardness that is their relationship as the queen and king. But Coppola seems to have decided to not bother her cast with doing accents. What lacks in story and acting is plentiful with images that are France at this time. The countryside that Antoinette travels as she is making her way to France is straight out of a painting. Not enough can be said about the gorgeous gowns that are worn by all the ladies. When Marie finally does become a mother, she moves away from the attention getting gowns and goes for softer ones to show her desire for a simpler life and focus on family. Even Comtesse du Barry’s (Asia Argento) dresses, the King’s mistress before he dies, are done with justice with her harlot red dresses to show what she really is. Accessories such as shoes and fans are not left out. The cakes and other desserts are such works of art you don’t want them to be eaten.
Even though it focuses on the frivolousness that is Marie Antoinette, the film would have been taken more seriously if respect would have been shown to Versailles by being more conscious of the acting and their accents.
If this film was a painting, it would be considered a work of art with the use of historical locations and authentic costumes. But it is hard to take the story seriously. And some of the acting (notably the lack of accents) doesn’t help. But it received a well deserved Oscar for costumes.
Report Card:
Story-B
Acting-C
Visuals-A
Originality/Innovation-B
Enjoyability Grade–B
DVD Extras-B
Overall Grade-B
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