Is Marie Antoinette a train wreck or a misunderstood classic? Or perhaps it is something altogether different. Time will tell just where in film history this will fit, if it's even allowed entry. I wasn't sure what to expect — actually, I expected the worst based on the criticism I have heard levied against it. What I saw was an intriguing tone poem of a movie made by a director who is toeing the line between eccentric genius and pretentious self indulgence. The resulting film falls somewhere in between the two extremes.
Sofia Coppola has an interesting take on the source material. It is always dangerous to tread in the waters of history, particularly if you don't plan on playing by the rules. Marie Antoinette did not play by the rules in her lifetime and Sofia Coppola does not play by the rules when it comes to her life on film. Marie Antoinette is a mish-mash of little bits of historical fact and a whole lot of feeling.
I am not terribly good when it comes to history, and I know very little about the real Marie Antoinette, and after watching this filmed version I am not anywhere closer to understanding her. However, I get a distinct sense of what she may have been like. This is a film of emotion and image, much more than it is an historical document of a life.
We get the outline of her life — a young woman from Austria sent to France to be married to the crown prince in an effort to create an alliance between the two nations. She unexpectedly becomes Queen, and lives a rather extravagant life while the nation becomes poorer and poorer until she becomes a target of the country's underprivileged.
Kirsten Dunst stars as the young Marie Antoinette. She gives us a young woman married into royalty who is young and vibrant and prone to self indulgence trapped in a world that strictly adheres to a code of conduct and ceremony to which she does not belong. She instead seeks to cater to her whims, cavorting with a select few and ignoring those who do not interest her, much to the dismay of many around her. At no point does Dunst convince me that she is the iconic Queen, but she doesn't have to. What she does is give me the impression of a young modern woman trying to find her way in a world mired in the past.
Article comments
1 - shankarsss
Instead of calling it "Marie Antoinette"...it could have been named as "Strawberry pink"...This is one of the most "Pinkish" film i have even seen.. Not to mention about Purple and Blue going head to head. some critics rather not happy with the story as true history was missing. I think more than anyone, Kirsten Dunst would have enjoyed this movie, as she enjoyed dressing, Eating and drinking more than anything.
Dont bother too much about History, just watch a beautiful women beautifully dressed day in day out and enjoy not a wealthy life.....But a Royal French Life. Every modern women would love to live her life atleast for one day.