Praise for Marie Antoinette

 

  This has been one of my favorite films from our in-class viewings thus far. Sofia Coppola's autuerist choices to tell a story of a historical figure who was deemed as a bit of an antagonist in history and portraying Marie Antoinette as a protagonist with such a modern take all works in Coppola's favor.

    Mise-en-scene: It was obviously very exciting that Coppola had the chance to shoot in Versailles, but the overall color scheme of the film with the very light and dainty "girly" colors made the film both visually pleasing and entertaining. Every set piece, costume, hairdo, makeup choice, and prop felt very appropriate and historically accurate for the times. 

I also just love the overall feel of the film. Coppola's choice to use more modern pop songs for the soundtrack of a historical feminine retelling of history was such a beautiful choice. I think the soundtrack and the style of dialogue went together so well and really made the film more relatable in a way, which at least for me made it a lot more enjoyable as a whole. 

Kirsten Dunst is genius in this role. Her almost childish charm as Marie Antoinette is something that I keep coming back to. Not only does her acting fit with the historical accuracy of Antoinette's story, but it also gives the film a bit of comedic relief at the perfect time. 

Though there were many scenes that I enjoyed, one that stands out the most is the iconic "Let them eat cake" scene. 

Before the scene, King Louis is talking to his advisors about financial matters and how the public views the monarchy. The colors and wardrobe are very dark which reflect the mood of the scene but differ from most of the scenes that feature Marie specifically. The camera then jumps to a full shot, then to a medium close up of Marie in the bathtub saying the famous line. It then cuts to Marie sitting with her friends as she denies ever saying something like that. 

I love the way that she wears a darker lipstick and how the shot if captured with such a darker filter to really exaggerate the fact that the people of France view her as evil and juxtaposes the way we as the audience have seen Marie up until this point. 

Overall, I believe Marie Antoinette deserves a 10/10.