Sofia Coppola Does It Again

Rating: 1/10 (7 April 2008)

It's probably me but I find it hard to believe that anyone would take Sofia Coppola seriously as a film maker if it weren't for her father. I'm not sure what the premise is here (a modern teenager transplanted into the French Court in the 18th Century?). Though the raucous contemporary music is clearly intentional, what does it add to the story? Kirsten Dunst isn't exactly miscast as Marie Antoinette; she is cast without observable rhyme or reason opposite Jason Schwartzman who likewise is dropped into his role as the Dauphin/King from a different planet. What is apparently intended as droll or funny is simply boring. The burlesque of court manners is as overdone as a piece of steak left too long on the broiler. There is absolutely no tension in the film as the French revolution begins and encroaches on the Palace and the life within it. Are we supposed to care about these people? They are more alive in the driest history book than in this movie! The only redeeming feature in this mess is the photography.