Reviews

History it is not but more a mix of French decadence meeting the ‘pop’ lifestyle.
Sofie Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” is dedicated to the ‘problem of leisure’. More of a character than Louis XVI is the elegance of Versailles where the movie was taken and the opulent sets and costumes.

Kristen Dunst, who is reported to have felt aloof and lonely throughout the making of the film ably, brings in those emotions into her role as the young Queen. Extravagant, spoilt and a typical teenager with too much Kristen glides to the film with all the grace of a royal. Although a representation of the extravagance and excess of the autocratic monarchs as their subjects starved the film also brings out the pathos in that life of excess.

The young queen lives with a marriage unconsummated for seven years. As an Austrian she is the outsider and is constantly mocked and scolded regardless of her position. The weak king, played by Jason Schwartzman is never there and time weighs heavily for Marie. There begins a life of decadent gowns, rich cakes, impulsive trips and a private hideaway as the queen indulges her desires even as the country festers with revolution.

The whirl of French fashion and the high life, the snootiness of the aristocracy, the childishness of the royals are whipped into delicious melt-in-the –mouth delicacy that needs to be experienced with an open mind. Don’t go looking for historical accuracy and you’ll find a movie that shows us that the over-indulgent lifestyles are not so far from those of the hard-partying yuppies of today. The gap between the haves and the have-nots and the fact that no life is problem free is the most obvious message one gets. However trivial it sounds it is hard work to constantly indulge yourself!







Language: English
Cast: Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette), Jason Schwartzman (King Louis XVI), Rip Torn (King Louis XV), Judy Davis (Comtesse de Noailles), Asia Argento (Madame du Barry), Marianne Faithfull (Empress Maria Teresa), Danny Huston (Joseph), Molly Shannon (Aunt Victoire), Steve Coogan (Count Mercy D’Argenteau), Rose Byrne (Duchesse de Polignac) and Shirley Henderson (Aunt Sophie).
Producer: Sofia Coppola and Ross Katz
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writing credits: Sofia Coppola based on the book by Antonia Fraser
Edited by: Sarah Flack
Director of Photography: Lance Acord
Costumes Designer: Milena Canonero
Release Date: October 13th at the New York Film festival, Nationwide October 20, 2006
Production House: Columbia Pictures
Running Time: 123 minutes
Rating: PG -13