Marie Antoinette

Sofia Coppola’s third feature is filled with the same fleeting imagery and wistful attitude that characterized her two previous films (those being The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation). It is a wonderfully breezy style that beautifully suits the material. Marie Antoinette, a young Austrian royal, is wedded to Louis XVI of France as a means of allying their two nations. The problem is that the new couple knows next to nothing about ruling a nation, nor due they show any interest to do so. Kirsten Dunst is marvelously ditzy as the title character, and Jason Schwartzman plays her socially awkward husband to perfection. They are not actors that immediately scream “Period Piece;” in fact, Dunst seems more like a Generation X valley girl in possession of her parents’ credit card than she does an actual historical figure. The parallel that Coppola is making is fairly obvious, especially considering that she has permeated the film with various modern pop songs. When all is said and done, the legendary French Queen is not much different from your typically spoiled prom queen. The film is stitched together by a thin thread of superficiality, and never amounts to anything resembling much depth, but this, after all, is the whole point. Marie Antoinette was so engrossed in the material privileges at her fingertips that she completely forgot there was an entire world out there. Unfortunately, this film probably paints a truer portrait of Royal life than we would like to admit. An exceptionally original take on a well-known story.

Directed by Sofia Coppola.
Written by Sofia Coppola.
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Molly Shannon, Asia Argento, Danny Huston and Steve Coogan.

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity and innuendo. 123 min.

****½ so says The Fish