Marie Antoinette
(2006)

Much has been made of Sofia Coppola's use of contemporary music in this lush period piece. Something about seeing the 18th Century French court set to strains of lesser new wave hits puts me in mind of the teen-oriented dramadies made popular in the eighties. You know, Marie Antoinette really has a lot in common with Hughes-ian, popular female characters. Much like Claire from The Breakfast Club, Marie is a teenager of privilege. Sure she's got lots of money and few responsibilities, but a life of luxury does not mean a life without problems.

Marie has been married off to the Dauphin (and future King Louis XVI) in order to maintain good relations between her native country Austria and France. Forced to leave everything she has ever known behind, Marie spends the first act of the film in a typical "fish out of water"-type scenario. It's apparent quite early that young Louis (Jason Schwartzman in a pitch-perfect 18th Century nerd performance) is a bit apprehensive in "closing the deal" with his new bride. Marie is essentially the cheer captain forced into attending the prom with the chess club president. It's Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall ... but with powdered wigs.

As the story progresses and the royal couple go longer and longer without an heir to the throne, Marie begins to take ownership of her position and in doing so endears some and alienates others. Alongside an ever-present entourage, Marie creates a fantasy world within the walls of Versailles. With extravagance to spare, her royal court exists within a bubble unaware that the world around them is on the brink of collapse. And though you may believe her when she denies making the "let them eat cake" remark, you'd have a hard time denying that the sentiment rings true. She's become the "mean girl" who doesn't understand the damage she's doing, and when the French hoards come knocking it takes her by surprise.

About half-way through this movie, it dawned on me that the amount of dialogue spoken was surprisingly minimal. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that there are more words in the review I am writing right now. Still, the movie doesn't suffer at all for it. Coppola is skilled at telling stories in a purely visual way. She's adept at capturing moments - sometimes subtle, sometimes overt, always powerful - that serve to tell the story on their own. Redundant dialogue is trimmed away, leaving a lean, beautiful and direct film that doesn't underestimate the intelligence of the audience.

A lot of people have insisted on pointing out the number of production flaws in the film. Supposedly boom mics dip into the shots on ten or more occasions in the movie. In fact, I never noticed a single incident of this, but even if I had, I'd have to point out that it's the price you have to pay for actually filming on location in the palace at Versailles. The film is a work of beauty and a testament to the power of film as a visual medium. Instead of a stuffy biopic, Coppola has adapted classic teenage drama to the royal court of 18th Century France, and surprisingly loses nothing in the translation.

Let them watch trailers.

Labels: theater