Marie Antoinette Review
Good Points
- It. Is. Gorgeous. The colours, the costumes, the lighting, the sets (most of the movie was actually filmed in Versailles), the music. A total feast for the eyes. (This reminds me of all the tasty pastries on display. Mmmm.)
- The contrast between Marie Antoinette’s arrival and her departure was well done, as were the opera scenes showing the court machine turning against her after creating the type of monarch that she became.
- Rose Byrne is so bubbly as the Duchesse de Polignac; you can understand why Marie would want to be around her and she’s fun to watch.
Bad Points
- The characters were a bit cartoony at times (especially du Barry and Louis XV).
- A lot of the “poor little rich girl” scenes designed to drum up sympathy for the young princess- having to leave everything from home behind upon reaching the Austrian-French border, being valued only for her womb and being miserable in her marriage- are what nearly every princess of that period had to put up with. Hers wasn’t a special situation.
- The accents jumped around a bit. American accents, French accents, French dialog with English subtitles. I don’t mind any of these, but pick one and stick with it!
- Louis and Marie were still eating oysters while the Versailles Palace was being stormed. I know this was supposed to show how entrenched and nonsensical the etiquette of Versailles was, but it just make the characters look stupid and callous. They had to have known that their people were starving by then.
- The pacing was very erratic and the film lacked any narrative structure which would have kept things interesting. The story just drifted along, showing Marie partying hedonistically at Versailles and then wandering listlessly around Petit Trianon, cutting out many of the truly fascinating events in her life which would have given her character more depth. A few I wish had been included are:
- The Affair of the Diamond Necklace, which was (maybe, possibly) obliquely referred to. I think Ambassador Mercy says that du Barry wants to sell Marie some diamonds, she’s wearing a diamond necklace in the “Let them eat cake” bath scene and she also says “We don’t need anymore diamonds” in a later scene. This was a crucial event in terms of the public’s loss of faith in the monarchy leading up to the Revolution. The story is gold: it involves a con woman, a disgraced Cardinal, a prostitute masquerading as the queen, another con artist being accused of hypnotism, and, of course, a 2,000,000 livre diamond necklace. I recommend reading up on it, because it’s fascinating and should have been included more in the film. (The Affair, I mean. The necklace itself is fug.)
- The Flight to Varennes: during which the Royal family almost successfully escape from Paris to their supporters in Montmédy, is full of excitement and tension.
- The French Revolution. C’mon, at least show the execution! That could have been an excellent scene: showing Marie finally seeing the majority of France and realising the consequences of her own actions upon her people. It could have been really powerful. Instead we get more drinking, gambling and lolling around.
Points in General
- I definitely understand why some people in France were upset by it. A movie idolising a woman famous for frivolously partying away a county’s wealth whilst its people were suffering, was never going to go down well on home soil. And the film doesn’t give any evidence to refute the preconception of Marie as an airheaded party girl. She rarely shows concern for anyone but herself.
Perhaps it’s appropriate that the film is so pretty but aimless. It’s protagonist lives within a shallow fantasyland bubble and is completely out of touch with reality. The film is nearly all façade, but it’s a lovely façade and it’s pleasant enough to watch. Just don’t expect too much in terms of character or action. C+
Screencaps from Screenmusings