"Marie Antoinette" is a movie about a young girl who isn't quite ready to be a queen. As decreed by the politics at the time, it is decided that a marriage between Austria and France should take place, and so Marie (Kirsten Dunst) leaves her home of Austria and journeys to France in order to marry Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman). They are quickly married.
The king, Louis' grandfather, succumbs to smallpox and dies, thrusting Louis and Marie into the royal limelight as king and queen of France. Some years later, Marie finally has a child, a baby girl. As time goes on, French officials start to worry about the money they are paying to finance the American Revolution and the worsening state of France, but Louis tells them to keep sending the money, and so taxes are raised once more.
Marie gives birth to a boy, and Versailles rejoices. However, tumult over the increasing starvation of France, and of the queen's spending habits, start to sober the good times at Versailles. "Marie Antoinette," directed by Sofia Coppola ("The Virgin Suicides," "Lost in Translation"), is a good movie.
It is not an amazing movie, but it is decent enough. For the most part, it seems to be historically accurate, despite everyone in both countries speaking perfect English. Dunst was able to convey the picture of a girl getting caught up in the trappings of her court, and Schwartsman brought Louis XVI to life as a boy who'd rather hunt than attend to his court.
Rip Torn has a good time playing the lecherous old king. One of the great benefits of the movie is seeing the palace of Versailles as it would have been. Countless women wait for Marie in the morning just to get her dressed; everyone wears extremely complex and beautiful gowns, and the very walls of every room are fabulously ornate.
Even the most boring scenes are rich in visual detail. One striking aspect of the film is how similar the young people then are to young people now; I expected the people of Versailles to always be on their best behavior, and yet gossip abounded in every scene, parties were attended, flings were had, and friends were made. In that aspect, at least, it brought to mind how difficult a task it would be for any young couple to run an entire country.
However pretty the movie was, its presentation is a bit faulty. The film flits from scene to scene, and only touches on the political aspects of Marie's position. Too much time is spent on inconsequential things; I saw Marie eat so many pastries that I was constantly surprised she was still able to fit into that tight corset.
One of the reasons often cited for the French's anger is the queen's gambling of the country's money, and yet she was only shown gambling in one scene. I think the movie could have done much better with less of the pretty fluff; most of its focus was on Marie and her gradual acceptance of the French court society, and all of the political scenes and scenes of increasing turmoil in France seem to be added as an afterthought. Overall, however, it was an interesting and poignant film to watch about a girl who was really just like any one of us.
It is definitely not a film meant for younger viewers with sexual content, partial nudity and innuendo. Mari Rogers is a senior at Williamsville North.
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