FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Marie-Antoinette is an Austrian teenager sent to France to be married to Louis XVI. The marriage is meant to help bridge the gap politically between the two countries. However, for the arranged marriage to truly be a success, it must be taken seriously. It must be believed by the general public that there is love in the forced relationship. There must be a child. Who would have thought consummating a marriage would be so difficult?

Yeah, there’s more to the story, but not really all that much more. Going in, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I certainly wasn’t looking for a period piece version of “American Pie” where the lead character spends the majority of the picture trying to get laid. I know it isn’t meant to be a strictly historically accurate biopic, but come on. Maybe if there was some depth or characterization here all could be forgiven, but alas. Here’s the extent of the characterization: he doesn’t want sex; she does. Oh, and she’s a party girl.

The acting certainly doesn’t help matters either. Once again, we’re subjected to one of the worst mainstream actresses working today – Kirsten Dunst. Her delivery is drier than the casts’ powdered wigs. There is absolutely no inflection in her voice whatsoever. I’m very glad there was so little dialogue early on, even if it did kill the pace. The rest of the cast is almost just as horrendous. Anyone could have played these parts. They way they are presented on this screen takes absolutely no skill whatsoever to pull off and it’s frustrating.

The only thing the movie really has going for it is in the visuals. The set pieces, costumes and locations look fantastic. I do find fault that absolutely everything is lit. Not only is there no depth in the acting, but there’s also none to be found in the cinematography. There are some great looking shots and I love the look the muted pastel color palate accomplishes, but the visual side only pleases aesthetically, not emotionally.

Writer/director Sofia Coppola takes a huge misstep with this film. I really don’t care how true to life the story is. It’s not the job of the movies to be a history book. It’s the job of the movies to be entertaining. This one tries hard, but fails. Coppola wants the film to have indie street cred so badly. She injects modern indie instrumental pieces to go along with the classical works of music. Then the music just gets progressively worse, culminating in the extravagance montage set to “I Want Candy.” And like I mentioned before, the pacing is way off. In the beginning, she spends so much time on certain sequences that it becomes painful. Yes, we get it, the marriage is awkward, move on from the ring already. Then after the first act or so, it’s all slapped together haphazardly. The film becomes disjointed, especially since there appears to be no consistency in the emotional content between two consecutive scenes. So, as a result, the film isn’t a historical take on the life of Marie-Antoinette, and it really isn’t a thematic take either. It’s just a pathetic movie that doesn’t deserve your time.

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