A young Austrian princess is married to the Dauphine of France with unanticipated lack of fulfilment

Rating: 2/10 (5 November 2006)

A great big glorious, magnificent, luxuriant bore. This story never should have been told in this manner. It is without passion or other than cursory insight, either in the life of Marie Antoinette, or the circumstances which led to the downfall of the French monarchy into which she was wed, given slight breath only by Rip Torn's uninhibited performance as the King of France. In fact, it is no story at all, but rather a series of boring, repetitious, poorly realized vignettes. The contemporary music that opens the film, and is used later during the body of the work, makes no sense, a jarring note. Beautiful to look at? Yes. Compelling, moving, worth two hours? None of the above. Sorry. As one who treasures French history, I had hopes for this one. Never happened.