Let
them eat cake! The most famous words of queen Marie Antoinette come alive in
the motion picture Marie Antoinette. Directed by Sofia Coppola, the stunning
shots and lavish imagery are reminiscent of candy and cake photographs of David
La Chapelle. Marie Antoinette is a
period drama starring a pale skinned Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette, and
boyish Jason Swartzman as Louis XVI. The story is of Marie (an Austrian
princess) who weds the dauphin of France (Jason Swartzman) for the two countries
to become allies. There are problems consummating the marriage, and of
producing a new heir to the thrown. The consequences of an un consummated
marriage hang over Marie as she tries to inspire the dauphin. As a viewer you
cant help but love her honest efforts. Marie has a habit of gambling, constant parties, and a
bad choice of friends. She is a rebel and the viewer falls in love with the
character, even though at one time she was the most hated person in
France. She is awkwardly learning
the rules of being a queen, and breaking all of them. Dunst did an amazing job
portraying this beautiful young woman. The movie is a little slow, and the
story is not very gushy however, the movies new age twist will hook you. There
is gossip, champagne and sweets galore, things that are very hard not to like.
But the best quality of this film is the things that set this period drama
aside from every other period drama ever produced. The royal lives are set to
post punk music, with only a dash of Vavaldi, and the sets are just absolutely
magnificent.
It
is set in 1768 in France and mostly takes place at the beautiful palace of
Versailles. The crew was given access to the palace, and most of the filming
was actually in the palace its self. Only the real thing can give life to a
drama like this, the only worry one would assume is getting frosting from all
of the cupcakes and macaroons in the movie on the historic walls of the castle.
The patterns and designs of the wallpaper and the intricate detail of the
moldings, is truly only fit for royalty. The beautiful landscapes and the
picture perfect timing of all of the shots bring up memories of vacations and
good times. The clothing is something that Coco Chanel would die for. The
dresses are beautiful hoop skirts made out of vibrant velvets and satins made
to match perfectly with the colorful sets and the pale skin of the actresses.
The shoes are insane! Colorful heels, crystals, feathers and plushy comfy
insoles are to die for. Any shoeholic would go crazy watching this film,
considering Manolo Blahnik designed the shoes himself. The hair is absolutely
outrageous. Pin curled stacked a foot tall on top of these ladies heads, it
must have taken hours in hair and makeup to get the complete period look. The
detail that was created in this movie is incredible, Pink and blue are the
color scheme through out the entire film, contrasting well with the period
making this movie something like no other period drama ever produced. The clash
between the colors and the time, and the soundtrack of our century overlapping
the 18th century really make an amazing combination.
The
music is so fitting for this film, even though it has absolutely nothing to do
with the time in which the movie is set.
Dramatic films often are set to serious dramatic orchestras. Although
Vavaldi can be herd a few times in the film, the audience doesn’t turn into a
period drone. The incorporation of the new age music in the old time setting
breaths new life into the cold dramatic film category, it gives the movie a
very youth like feel to it. There are instances through out the film where the
music completely energizes the feeling one should have while watching a film
like this. For instance, while at a masked ball the music played over the court
dancing is “Hong Kong Garden” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Clearly the song
was not around during Marie Antoinette’s reign of France, the only connection
that could be made could possibly be the updo’s of the actresses, and of course
Siousxie Sous hair sprayed goth fro.
Hearing the tune really makes the audience connect with the actresses,
it seems as though it is a real party, one that we would attend today. It
creates a modern, human connection one can achieve best with music that one can
relate to. Another instance is during her 16th birthday party when
The Cure is playing in the back round while drunken royalty stays up all night
partying until sunrise. This song, herd at many parties strums up memories of
good times had at parties with friends, and the audience realizes that these people
are actually real, and not just names and history.
Marie
Antoinette is such a great film. There is so much creativity in every aspect of
the film, the clothing, the towers of hair, the jewels and even the
masterpieces that are made out of frosting and chocolate are stunning. The
velvet, hoop skirts and the corsets are so vibrant, just like the film. The
historic palace of Versailles and the landscapes of old France mixed with new
wave and post punk is one of the most creative ideas a filmmaker has ever created.
With this recipe for a movie it can’t leave a bad taste in your mouth. You will desperately seek sweets during
this film, so eat your cake and fall in love with Marie Antoinette.
Katherine
No comments:
Post a Comment