Movie Review: "Marie Antoinette"

First off, I was going to boycott this movie. The reason is because I am not a Kirsten Dunst fan at all. Maybe it's because she acts annoying in all the movies she's been in. Maybe it's because she always dated actors I used to have crushes on. I mean I didn't (and still won't) see any of the Spiderman movies in theaters because of her even though I absolutely adore Tobey Maguire and James Franco. So when I saw the trailer for this movie portraying Dunst as the extravagant and flighty queen, I said forget about it. But then that trailer really got to me. I really liked the song "Age of Consent" by New Order so much that I put it on my MySpace page where it's been for the last couple of months even though I have received many pleads to change it (NEVER!!). I heard all the hype about how the movie is unique for using modern music in a period costume drama. So I caved and decided to watch it.

Well let me say, I was blown away, and I actually enjoyed this movie. The costumes are sumptuous and rightly deserved the Academy Award it won for them. The scenery, which I believe is the actually palace in France, is beautiful as well. Sofia Coppola really is a talented director for doing such a few number of films. This movie puts a new spin on Marie Antoinette who by fame is known for being not in touch with the common people of France. You feel sorry for her character, she is the pawn of two countries trying to form a union. She is expected to immediately have an heir and a lot of pressure is placed on her. Everyone keeps gossiping about her and so to avoid this she lives a life where she splurges a lot. A what a life that is, the dresses, and the shoes (Manalos!), and cakes. Oh and this movie also won points for having pugs!!

One thing I found odd is that everyone was allowed to keep their own accents in this movie. So you have the king and queen speaking with American accents, ladies in waiting speaking in British and Australian, and other members of the royal court in French. It's actually kind of distracting at first but then you forget about it after a while. I found the actors to be unique and interesting. I never would have thought of Jason Schwartzman as Louis XVI but I thought he gave it a different spin. I did like it very much how the king and queen's relationship grew over time and you could tell that they really did love each other by the end. Of course there's that little blip with her affair, but oh well. I really did like the fact they used 80's and modern punk rock for the soundtrack. It gave the movie a more youthful appeal. I've always wanted my life to have a soundtrack and the music here is perfect with the scenery. Now this movie has not made a Kirsten Dunst fan, but it has peaked my intersect more in the real Marie Antoinette. Some sexual situations aside, I would recommend this movie.