Marie Antoinette

Like Alice following the white rabbit to wonderland, an innocent girl who is slightly intrigued is forced into a new world. At only 14, Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) was given by Austria to France as an essential gift to intertwine to two nations. She became a princess in a day, leaving her old life behind, and becoming a famous gambler, partier, and eventual Queen of France. The tales we've already heard about Antoinette play up her partying nature without much explanation. It has even been said that her husband, who wouldn't have sex with her, was actually gay. Sofia Coppola's much criticized film addresses the motives and feelings of the 14 year old. Coppola and Dunst collaborate to paint the portrait of a naive teenager who was overjoyed at the life of a princess because she knew few other truths of reality. The horrors that Antoinette is put through seem inevitable within the society. The King, played by Jason Schwartzman, does not seem gay, as they could have made him, but reluctant and unsure of himself. He seems to not even want to play a part in the film, and his awkwardness towards Antoinette is endearing. Perhaps he was gay and didn't know what his feelings meant at the time. He was never outwardly searching for gay partners, but perhaps within the environment of the French monarchy, he didn't know that he should. Dunst is so great in her role as Antoinette that we feel for the character. She lived a sad life, and yet her luxury was at the highest caliber. Sofia Coppola's film is great because she does things we have not seen before in a period piece. Firstly, she uses modern day music to tell the story, which makes more sense than you would think because it evokes a mood. I wonder if in some period pieces which tell of 16th century kings and queens, they don't mistakenly use music from the 17th century. How could people from the 21st tell the difference anyway? Music should evoke a mood, and here it does. Coppola also pays little attention to facts, and tells the story from Antoinette's point of view, and as she is unknowledgeable about France's people, so are we. Coppola also uses her art production wonderfully, but in ways that are specific to the story, and in Antoinette's elaborate adornments, it reminds of a teenaged girl aching for expensive clothes. This is a great film, even though it is thrown by the wayside so often because it is not traditional. Coppola's incessant use of unhappy rich people is perhaps a misplaced moral, but she's damn good at making her case.
Marie Antoinette: ★★★★