French history. That's hot
Sofia Coppola keeps her head in Marie Antoinette
DYLAN FERGUSON VOLUNTEER STAFF
There is no guillotine in Mary Antoinette, but there are plenty of shoes, cake and champagne. There is also a good deal of ’80s new wave on the soundtrack. Historians, professors, and fans of “powdered wig” cinema, prepare to enter the Sofia Coppola zone.
One striking feature about the third film from one of American cinema’s greatest talents — after The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation — is how much is not there. There is very little dialogue, barely a mention of court politics, and not a trace of dramatic pomp to be found.
What there is, is an amazing wealth of good-looking shots. Coppola is a very skilled hand behind the camera, and she puts full use to the lavish costumes and actual Versailles court
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
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at her disposal. And there is also a subtle, cheeky performance by Kirsten Dunst as the ill-fated queen.
We meet Mary Antoinette as an Austrian archduchess who is married off to the French dauphin (Jason Schwartzman) in order to create unity between the two countries’ courts. In the first act, young Marie finds herself confused and awash in the excessive ceremony of Versailles, lost in a labyrinth of pomp and circumstance. Her fiancé, Louis- Auguste, is awkward, despondent, and has no idea what to do with the dauphine once he has her in bed. Soon, Marie learns to speak the snobby, gossipy chatter of the courts, and starts to have fun — going to rowdy parties, gambling, dressing extravagantly, flirting with a Swedish count (Al Weaver), and becoming a target of slander-sheets. Think Paris Hilton with a three-foot wig.
When King Louis XV (Rip Torn) dies of smallpox, Marie becomes queen. Then the French Revolution breaks out, unseen by us. Then the movie is cut short, before heads can roll.
Many viewers will feel stranded by the lack of politics, or any scenes involving the French public. But this is not a film about the state of a nation — it’s about a state of mind.
Marie is a whimsical fairytale character who could just as easily be a modern-day “valley girl” as a queen. The fact that she is co-ruler of the world’s greatest nation never enters her mind for more than a minute, nor does it get more than a minute’s worth of running time. Modern elected rulers are expected to be responsible, but when you’re born into a position of power without a say in the matter — what’s a girl to do?
It may be that Sofia Coppola, who was born into Hollywood royalty, feels a kinship with Marie Antoinette’s upbringing — that would certainly explain the presence of New Order and Bow Wow Wow on the soundtrack, as well as newer groups like the Strokes. Marie’s childish discomfort, her cheap, giddy thrills, and her hollow despair may not be noble emotions, but they are meticulously illustrated. Indeed, they are the bulk of the film. When Marie plays “peasant,” it is a ridiculous parody of the real world. But neither she nor we get to glimpse that real world in this film.
Her emotions may be petty if you put them into perspective, but Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst make us feel for her nonetheless.
Marie Antoinette is basically an estrogen-soaked fairytale about a cute girl trying to have a good time, and that will turn a lot of people off. But Marie was no fairytale princess, and we all know how she ended, even if the movie won’t show us. Consider that, and how intimate we are brought to the title character, and you have a very fascinating film. Even without politics or battles.
The only thing more jarring than the humanity Sofia Coppola brings to the historical drama is the realization of just how badly it has been missing in the genre.
Yes, this is a fairytale, but it’s a fairytale with real heart and soul — and Gang of Four! Bitchin’.
