Marie Antoinette

    

Image courtesy of 2006 Columbia Pictures Industries

    The film we viewed in my Film 100 class last week was Marie Antoinette (2006) directed by Sofia Coppola. Before I go into detail regarding my feelings about this film, I'd like to give a warning as I will be discussing spoilers. So for those who haven't seen the film and do not want spoilers then I advice you from reading on. 

    Honestly, I did not love nor hate the film's narrative. Not being much of a history person, I couldn't connect with what was going on. Part of which I'm sure was due to the fact that I approached this film unaware of who Marie Antoinette really was. All that I knew before this film was that she got her head chopped off during the French Revolution because she was greedy and said "Let them eat cake". Not having much of an interest in Marie or her life made the film not as impactful. Regardless, I believe the directing was still good and the film had its moments. 

    I'm mostly impressed on how the film was able to change my opinion on Marie Antoinette. I'm curious if that was the purpose of the film. What started off as a negative opinion on Marie as an individual changed to become feelings of pity. Marie was expected to give up her childhood, home, and the ways of her old country for the duties of being a queen in France, which made me realize why she behaved with the desire to ignore her problems and why she did not have a true grasp on money. Yet, it was not only just the knowledge of her true story that changed my opinion but the way the character was portrayed. Played by actor Kristen Dunst, Marie behaved quite similar to a young woman who is just trying to figure out life. She learned from the girls her age, liked having fine things, wanted independence, and did not want to face her responsibilities. In ways, I could relate to her character which made her more human to me.

    Another aspect of that film that I was intrigued by was the mise en scène. Sofia Coppola had her own directive touches that added to the film, such as the pop music playing throughout the movie. I did not expect to hear modern songs in a film about a girl who lives during the late 1700s. Also, most of the sets and costumes were busy and highlighted the wealth of the royals during that time. Furthermore, I noticed that the colors pink and blue contrasted a lot in the movie. Blue was used in moments of Marie fulfilling her duties while pink was used in scenes when Marie was more frivalous. Lastly, the lighting within each scene paired well with the theme and emotion Coppola was going for. In scenes where Marie was sad or trapped, the setting was dark. On the other hand, when Marie felt free the setting was bright and sometimes she was even frolicking outside. 

    One critisism I have is that there did not seem to be a climax within the film, it just ended quickly. One moment she was living her best life and the next there were people with torches standing outside the castle. I believe this was meant to reflect how quickly things can happen in life, but the balance between trying to keep some scenes realistic and others exaggerating was not executed properly. Also, I believe some scenes were too busy, such as the image above. Nonetheless, I'm glad that Coppola chose to leave out Marie loosing her head as that would of broke my heart.