Just in time for Oscar season, Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" offers a unique perspective on the teen queen's lavish lifestyle on the eve of the French revolution. The movie follows the notorious Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) from her early arranged marriage to Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman) to the demise of the absolute monarchy in France.
Although it can be qualified as a period piece, Coppola toys with history by including a strong touch of modernity in her portrayal of Versailles, which oozes the director's girly, hip style.
The film begins when Marie Antoinette leaves her family and her home country, Vienna. Upon her arrival in Versailles, she is immediately betrothed to the King of France's eldest son, Louis-Auguste, the heir to the throne.
As an outsider, Marie Antoinette must learn the strict rules of conduct that dominate social relations in the royal court. While her daily life is extremely public and monotonous, she quickly appreciates the luxury that her new position affords her. She spends all her time trying on elegant outfits and shoes, sipping champagne at exclusive parties and snacking on extravagant sweets and pastries. The movie dazzles its audience by focusing on the queen's expensive habits and tastes through an impressive image of never-ending wealth.
Unfortunately, Coppola falls drastically short as a writer; there is no plotline, much less a remotely interesting one. This deficiency results in an agonizingly slow movie with little substance. The sparse dialogue coupled with the lack of action makes for a vapid and surprisingly uneventful film.
Coppola refuses to go far beyond the queen's party life, which she fails to make interesting or entertaining enough to be the main focus of the movie. She also ignores many of the most important historical events of Marie Antoinette's life, such as her beheading.
Moreover, in a film about one of the French Revolution's most famous figures, the revolution is not shown until the final scenes when an angry mob surrounds Versailles and forces the royal family to leave. Coppola deliberately chose to ignore the history and politics, which would have been an interesting way to approach the subject had she succeeded in making the story a bit more gripping. After two hours, watching Dunst pamper herself in the palace gets exhausting.
Perhaps a stronger screenplay would have weighed down Coppola's ultimate objective, a charming and aesthetic depiction of royal life, which she captures by shooting the entire film in the gilded halls and elaborate gardens of Versailles. The cinematography is beautiful, offering a stunning tour of the grounds. The camera accompanies Dunst's solitary walks around the parks and canals, which nowadays are flooded with obnoxious tourists.
Only a few scenes take place outside of the chateau, when the king and queen attend the Opera house or masked balls in Paris. The director's choice of a single predominant setting helps show how removed Marie Antoinette was from French society, suggesting that the queen could not possibly understand her people or the way they lived. However, it also contributes to the dull plot that never leaves the limited confines of Versailles.
Though Coppola based the film off of the sympathetic biography by Antonia Fraser, "Marie Antoinette: A Journey," she delivers an original portrait of this famed historical figure through her surprising choice of music and quirky cast. If nothing else, Coppola is a scenester, and her choice of soundtrack is proof of that. Air, Aphex Twin, and Gang of Four weren't topping the charts in 18th century France, but it is refreshing to hear them crop up in this otherwise dull film.
The Cure is played during the king and queen's coronation, rather than a traditional orchestral piece. The actors make no effort to seem French, comfortably bandying back and forth in their American accents. Dunst acts like the Paris Hilton of the royal court, with her own puppy following her around. Rip Torn and Jason Schwartzman hardly seem like appropriate actors to play Louis XV and Louis XVI, respectively, but they pull it off in a ridiculous yet amusing way.
Coppola's modern and Americanized version of the monarchy is fun, until the lack of a legitimate story eventually bores the audience. As an idea, Sofia Coppola's project had definite potential. As a film, well, just buy the soundtrack.
