Marie Antoinette

Director: Sofia Coppola

As she proved with her masterpieces The Virgin Suicides and Lost In Translation, writer/director Sofia Coppola is exceptional at depicting the angst, heartache, coming-of-age and general emotional upheaval of young women isolated by their circumstances—whether it be the desperate, lonely Lisbon sisters in her Virgin debut or a young, married bored wife Lost in Tokyo. Rounding out what has become a sort of thematic trilogy of this particular thematic experience, Sofia Coppola drew inspiration from Antonia Fraser’s biography on Marie Antoinette, reuniting with her Virgin Suicides leading lady Kirsten Dunst for her turn as the sweet, naïve, innocent, and bubbly child princess. Married at fifteen, the young Austrian girl left her homeland to become the wife of the equally inexperienced Louis XVI (played by Coppola’s cousin Jason Schwartzman) only to be thrust into the spotlight by becoming queen by nineteen. Feeling isolated by a disinterested husband who seems unwilling to consummate the marriage, Marie Antoinette seeks solace in material possessions—shoes, desserts, wigs, and other decadent articles. Loathed by audiences at the Cannes Film Festival, it nonetheless won the Cinema Prize of the French National Education System. While some consider the film to be an allegorical one of the current Bush administration others can simply be dazzled by the precise and powerfully emotional portrayal of Dunst (who’s done her best work with Sofia Coppola) and the film’s gorgeous, unconventional style. Opting for a fresh approach to period cinema, Coppola uses MTV-like visuals—languid, sensuous photography coupled with creatively modern musical choices to tell her version of the Antoinette’s story, equating her lifestyle to a modern day rock star. While some were put off by this approach, I felt that it made the tale of the Queen more intimate and inclusive rather than feeling distanced by a stiff, pretentious period drama approach and the audacious soundtrack (arguably the greatest of 2006) helped bring the story to life in an unprecedented way for the genre. Seemingly inspired by Forman’s Amadeus, Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, Frears’s Dangerous Liasions, and Fellini’s duo of La Dolce Vita and 8 & ½, Coppola crafts a unique feast for the senses and indeed the short teaser trailer for the movie (available on the DVD) was one of the most exciting ones I’d seen at the theatre since Garden State. Admittedly, one flaw of the film would be the casual and rapid telling of the woman’s life that doesn’t include much in the way of time or dates (inspiring viewers to seek independent research and clarification on their own). Despite this, Marie Antoinette is still a wonderful, luminous conclusion to Coppola’s female coming of age trilogy and indeed Dunst’s character is the first one to embrace motherhood. Fitting to this theme, Sofia Coppola announced her own pregnancy shortly after its debut and while no film plans have been made for the director, I recently read that she’ll be helming a large-scale French opera in the near future—a daunting task of which I’m sure she’ll succeed and one that no doubt the opera loving Queen Antoinette would have approved.

Soundtrack Selections from iTunes


Note: Due to the brilliance of the soundtrack, I'm offering several recommendations.

"Hong Kong Garden" by Siouxsie and The Banshees


“Plainsong” by The Cure


"All Cats Are Grey” by The Cure


“What Ever Happened” by The Strokes


“Ceremony” by New Order


“Natural’s Not In It” by Gang of Four


“Pulling Our Weight” by The Radio Department


“I Don’t Like It Like This” by The Radio Department


“Keen On Boys” by The Radio Department


“The Melody of a Fallen Tree” by Windsor for the Derby


“Fools Rush In” by Bow Wow Wow


“Aphrodisiac” by Bow Wow Wow


“I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow


“Kings of the Wild Frontier” by Adam and the Ants