On the surface Marie Antoinette appeared to be a colorful, modern, and energetic retelling of the story of a doomed queen. While it definitely captured the colorful, it never got a grasp on energetic. In fact, it seemed to be the very opposite.
At the outset, the languishing pace can be understood. Marie's isolation is the center of attention at this point. We see and feel how she is being sent to a country she's not familiar with to marry a man she hasn't met; we empathize as she is subjected to a humiliating stripping at the border, since the French will not allow her to enter their country with any article of Austrian clothing; we feel for her as she begins to lose her identity. Doubtless, these events would be moving slowly and inextricably for any of us. This is portrayed well.
However, there seems no reason to perpetuate this dawdling pace. Our esteemed director, Sofia Coppola, seemed to delight in dwelling on the silliest things. For example, we are able to enjoy breakfast with the royal couple numerous times and then we see Louis ride off to some hunt. The rituals associated with retiring for the night and waking in the morning are repeated for the audience as well. We enjoy the boring letters from Marie's mother and the lectures from some Austrian guy. (It was never clear to this reviewer just who he was nor just why I should care who he was). Then came the supposed "excesses" of Marie Antoinette: the food, the clothes, the parties. Boring. No titillation whatsoever could be dredged out of these scenes - even under the threat of a beheading. Apparently, we were being educated in the monotony that this poor Austrian princess had to endure.
Interesting yet aggravating scenes were strewn about through the course of the movie. Some of the royal dinners were extravagant affairs. Coppola has a talent for understatement, a powerful tool in filmmaking, and this is shown in the subtle gossiping that went round the table. And while that can be insightful, in this case it was, once again, just annoying. It seemed incomprehensible and after a few whispered sentences the audience is left straining to hear and understand what's happening. After a while, you just cease to be interested.
Article comments
1 - CrystalChord
Honestly, I have to say, I disliked Kirsten Dunst's portrayal of Marie Antoinette. She made Marie seem so out of touch, so vacuous. Her Majesty was actually very concerned about the people of France, but could not to anything about it.
Coppola left out important historical facts and just made a glazed over pop-art film with no substance or depth. It's as shallow as a child's wading pool.
I cannot wait until someone makes an ACTUAL film about Her Majesty and her life and the trials she had to face.