Review: Marie Antoinette
Did you see Lost in Translation? Did you like it? If you did, consider yourself a shoe-in for Marie Antoinette because it’s the exact same ambiance just transported back 200 years and moved half a planet West. This makes it sound like the film was boring. And I won’t lie, there were times when it was. But in the way that Coppola’s other film was boring: the boredom of reality. What you see in Marie Antoinette is not a retelling of a dramatic moment in time or a period piece about romance or tragedy. You see random days in the life of a girl made queen, of an outsider in a strange culture.
What’s more than the ambiance of feeling is that of vision. Holy hell. This film is a visual overload: mirrors and silk and flowers and velvet and fondant and….. Many reviewers mentioned how you would be absolutely dizzied by the endless layering of beauty. They were not exaggerating. It was like a pastel Moulin Rouge in broad daylight. My new HDTV is arriving tonight and I’m absolutely watching for a second time just to see what the set can do. It’s that kind of experience.
And the soundtrack! Aphex Twin and Siouxie and the Banshees in one place? Yes, sir…you are right. Little anachronisms like this made for a quirky vibe that lent itself to life at Versailles under Louis XVI.
What I like most about Sofia Coppola’s films is the way they are so repeatable. She does not force you to follow one emotional path through from start to end but instead lets you create whatever feelings you want by filling your mind with nuanced glances and deafening silences. Marie Antoinette reminded me of visiting a gallery full of sublime art…so good that you will visit again and again just to uncover what else you can possibly draw from what’s on display.
In short, unless you are looking for a film that does the storytelling for you, you’ll love it. 4 stars!
