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"Marie Antoinette"
Sony Pictures
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Aria Argento and Steve Coogan
Rated PG-13/123 minutes
Opened Oct. 20, 2006
Three out of four stars
Sometimes you can just tell when you're seeing something special unfold-or, rather, someone. When even the weakest entry in a young filmmaker's canon only reaffirms his or her budding greatness and leaves you begging for more, that's a pretty clear sign.
Such is the case with Sofia Coppola, who has single-handedly made up for the fact that her once-great father directed "Jack" (yes, that one) with a small body of work that represents one of the great voices of 21st-century cinema. If it sounds like I'm raving about her, that's because I am.
She deserves it.
"Marie Antoinette" is her third directorial effort, and it's flawed, uneven, awkward at times and confusingly structured at others. It's also one of the most fascinating and original movies of the year, an experiment that could only have been made by a natural filmmaker with extraordinary focus of vision.
Those looking for an old-fashioned historical period piece and lament the fact that the film never shows the queen's infamous beheading are simply missing the point. Coppola has approached an enigmatic historical character in a way no one else would have. Instead of focusing on politics and history, Coppola focuses on the character herself, on the fact that Marie Antoinette was simply a teenager-a girl-who was married off to align her native Austria with France. She became Archduchess at age 14, and took the throne as the nation's queen at 19.
Played with delicacy and youthfulness by Kirsten Dunst, Marie Antoinette inherits a completely new lifestyle-including a husband, Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman)-and is lost and alone, unsure of how to reign and how to deal with the admiration of some and the spite of others. We see her story through her own childlike eyes. We experience her joy and vigor on one hand, confusion and uncertainty on the other.
The film also satirizes the ceremony, tradition and rules that govern French society; at one point Marie expresses, "This is ridiculous." To which the Comtesse de Noailles indignantly replies, "This is Versailles!"
The film works, when it does, with subtle gestures, hints, winks and deadpan one-liners whispered behind one's back-Coppola's script is often so subtle that some may not catch on to all of its little idiosyncrasies.
Much has been made of Coppola's decision to use modern music on the soundtrack, such as New Order, The Strokes, Gang of Four and The Radio Dept. However, I can't see much to complain about because it all works so well. Music in film is all about capturing a mood and enhancing the visual experience, and Coppola does that here as well as she ever has. Her "Marie Antoinette," like so many good expressionistic films, exists in an alternate universe. The music should naturally follow suit.
As exciting as it is to see Coppola taking such risks and giving so much life to her material, this film is not without its flaws. The first hour or so border on masterful. But the second half loses its direction a bit. Episodes and sequences seem out of sync and don't really add up to anything. A lost child is mentioned, then discarded. There is an affair, but it never goes anywhere. And the finale-which suddenly tries to focus on the political intrigue that had previously been merely peripheral-doesn't work because the rest of the film has been focused elsewhere, dulling the ending's impact and importance.
Still, Coppola's vision persists. It may not measure up to the great "The Virgin Suicides" and the even better "Lost in Translation," but it is her most audacious effort to date, and I can't wait to see what she does next.
