By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Judy Davis | Kirsten Dunst | Marianne Faithfull
Country: france, japan, united_states
Year: 2006
Running time: 123
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422720/
Chris says: “Had I seen MARIE ANTOINETTE ten years ago, I would have walked out the theater flushed and excited, declaring it my favorite of the year. Now, I know a little better to lavish such praise on what is an interesting experiment, but nothing more. Of course, Sofia Coppola already made her masterpiece with LOST IN TRANSLATION (and THE VIRGIN SUICIDES came close). Her unconventional biopic isn’t a complete failure; I’m not sure if it even knows what it wants to be.
“The most thrilling parts involve music. I’ve always adored anachronisms in period pieces (it’s what keeps most of ’em from being stodgy), and the moods Coppola conjures up here are exquisite, even transcendent, especially the parts scored to ‘Hong Kong Garden’ or any of the three songs by previously unknown dream-poppers The Radio Dept. You couldn’t ask for a better Marie than Kirsten Dunst, who has managed to retain her luminous child-like qualities without seeming childish. Also, get a load of that great supporting ensemble: Steve Coogan, Shirley Henderson, Rip Torn, Judy Davis, forever gravelly-voiced Marianne Faithfull (as Marie’s mum!) and Asia Argento in an head-turning turn as Madame du Barry.
“The film is more concerned with fabulous décor and the pressure on Marie to give birth to an heir (no thanks to wet blanket
Louis XVI, played an appropriately aloof Jason Schwartzman), than the impending French Revolution, which barely figures in here. Coppola has made an opulent, swooning spectacle that’s highly distinctive, daring, loads of fun, but lacking much of the weight of her first two features. And in the end, it’s not radical enough; although something close to a train wreck in parts, MOULIN ROUGE already did this sort of thing with much more feeling. 3 cats”