Marie-Antoinette

Marie-Antoinette (2006) written and directed by Sofia Coppola follows the life of Marie-Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria and later Queen of France. Historically, it is relatively accurate, Marie-Antoinette was married by proxy and later handed over to the French court, she did not have children until her brother visited the king, she tended to her garden in the Petit Trianon, enjoyed parties and dresses and performed at her own theatre (in dance however and not in song as the movie depicts).

Coppola gives the film an ethereal quality, tending towards showing a positive and down-to-earth Marie-Antoinette; showing for example her committment to Louis XVI by keeping at his side despite her having an affair, showing her often in the garden, and preferring the more simple dresses (as was true in real life). Coppola however attributes little to Marie-Antoinette's political contribution to French politics (be it ironically minimal) nor to the difficulty of the position in which she had to straddle French and Austrian interests. The film thus maintains its delicacy and particularly so with an ending that avoids her beheading.

Coppola achieves a visual feast in Marie-Antoinette, profiting not only on the detail but also on the panoramic shots. It is this that keeps the viewer as the pace never quite picks up. Marie-Antoinette's character itself is affable and Dunst effects this without much trouble having played a similar role in Elizabethtown (2005). None of the other characters are of much note as the script intends to consider Marie-Antoinette alone.

Genre: Historical Drama
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman
Written & Directed by Sofia Ford Coppola