Quickie: MARIE ANTIONETTE (2006)
Marie Antoinette (2006)–****
Quickie Review
A young Austrian archduchess is selected to marry the heir to the French throne, but is unable to stand up to the constant examination of her life. Defying every convention of the period drama (from music to casting), Sophia Coppola’s film proves to be as contemporary a film as Lost in Translation. Truly sumptuous and thoroughly engaging, this look at our modern celebrity culture will only get better with age. Kirsten Dunst is astonishing with her strikingly intimate portrayal of the queen. Also starring Rip Torn, Jason Schwartzman, Molly Shannon and Judy Davis.
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I had reached the point in my life where I could not bare the idea of seeing another historical-costume-drama. The thought of seeing another actor attempting the stilted period lingo and mello-drama gives me a headache, BUT Miss Coppola has undone my pain with this fresh take on the period drama, with her lovely and off-beat MARIE-ANTOINETTE. Usually you watch the piece from afar, thinking, “Wow, life sure was hard back then,” but you never really can relate to the characters, but Coppola breaks tradition in a completely refreshing way, so that you can really understand these characters. She uses modern day music (not like the horrible A KNIGHT’S TALE did) and hand held camera work. Her style is much more free and alive. She takes her time with the material so that we get a feel for time period and all of the free time they had. The acting is first rate, other than a mis-cast Rip Torn who’s a little too over-the-top. If you’ve enjoyed her other movies (THE VIRGIN SUICIDES & LOST IN TRANSLATION), then you are sure to enjoy this film. But if you are looking for another stilted period drama with forced accents and dead camera work then rent THE PARTRIOT or VANITY FAIR. I really enjoyed MARIE-ANTIONETTE, though I’m not sure how historically accurate it is, it’s a fine film. Some have criticized Coppola for making a French subject so American, but that is not the point, she has created an accessible historical biopic, that people of MARIE-ANTIONETTE’s age could enjoy and relate to.