"Marie Antoinette" *** (out of ****)The very first image we see in Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" is of the young future Queen of France sitting down while one of her servants tie her shoe. As she is licking the whip cream off a piece of cake. Making the viewers recall the famous quote attributed to her, after hearing about a shortage of food in France, she reportedly said "let 'em eat cake". But this image does more than that. It displays her vanity and how spoiled she was.
In an early scene when Antoinette is to meet her future husband, the Prince of France, she is told she must say goodbye to everything Austrian. So she turns and tells her friends and family goodbye. But, it in only when she is told she must also leave her dog behind she sheds tears. This shows her indifference to ordinary people. A claim which would later cost her, her life.
Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" is a modern updated biography of her life. Coppola has decided to focus more so on Antoinette's age. She was 15 years old at the time of her marriage to the prince.
But one has to wonder why? We've seen these type of modern updates when applied to Shakespeare. Think of "Romeo & Juliet" with Leonardo Di Caprio. There, the idea was suppose to be an attempt to teach younger generations about the work of Shakespeare. In order to capture their interest the stories would have to be told with a modern twist. But is there really a need to update Marie Antoinette's life to teenagers? Apparently Sofia Coppola thought so.
Antoinette is played by Kirsten Dunst, who also starred in Coppola's feature film debut, "The Virgin Suicides". Dunst plays Antoinette has a spoiled teenager who has great responsibility thrusted upon her after marrying the Prince of France, Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman) in an attempt to reconcile differences between Austria and France. Schwartzman plays the character as an odd, shy teenage boy who hasn't quite learned how to act around girls. He'd be the guy at the party standing in the corner next to the punch bowl.
Now, while Dunst and Schwartzman make the best of their roles, one has to wonder what exactly was Coppola thinking? She purposely made God-awful casting decisions. Dunst is simply not believable as an Austrian. She makes no attempt to even have an accent and is less believable as the Queen of France. Schwartzman is another mis-cast. Not to mention, everyone speaks English.
Though Coppola would argue, do not read into the movie so much. The film after all opens with a rock score playing over the credits. We are not to take "Marie Antoinette" seriously. Think along the lines of what Baz Luhrmann did with "Moulin Rouge!". Making characters sing songs out of their historical context. But Coppola's film lacks "Moulin Rouge!" breathtaking visually beauty. "Moulin Rouge!" was eye candy of the highest order. "Marie Antoinette" is a good film but nowhere near the creativity of Luhrmann's work.
Still we cannot judge Coppola's film too harshly. We must first understand what Coppola's intentions were and then decide how effectively she reached her objective. Coppola's succeeds in presenting Antoinette as a girl. In one scene we see her wear converse tennis shoes. And she is able to go over highlights of her life providing information for those who knew nothing about her.
"Marie Antoinette" is not a great film. But it is somewhat entertaining. Coppola has made more lasting works in "The Virgin Suicides" and "Lost in Translation". So we cannot argue she has no talent. But "Marie Antoinette" is a film I don't think people are going to remember her for. It was a brave attempt which didn't fully pay off. Then again, that's the risk you run when you try something new. But at least she tried.
"Marie Antoinette" was also nominated for one Oscar for "Best Costume Design" which it won.
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