Great Film

Rating: 8/10 (22 October 2006)

This was a really good film. I wasn't sure as I was watching it whether I liked it or not and I had to think about the aesthetic presentation a bit to decide, but after much contemplation I've decided it's a wonderful movie. The reason I had to think about it is that the artistic interpretation is unusual.
Visually, of course, it was stunning. The movie was filmed on location at Versailles and the costumes were magnificent; and, Kirsten Dunst is her usual lovely self so everything was easy on the eyes. From a historical standpoint the film seems accurate (from the bit I've read on the subject) although its a bit thin on facts.
The controversy at Cannes, (and what I had to think about) turns, I think, on the contemporary language and score, interspersed with period costumes, music, and production design. It is that strange mix of flavors, however, that ultimately makes the film special and allows it to convey the spirit of Marie Antoinette and the world in which she lived. It communicates her fundamentally frivolous nature and helps us to understand the way that she was viewed in her own time, by introducing some elements of what we might have seen had she lived today.
Good movie, definitely worth the money and sure to win some Academy nods for cinematography and costume design, at least.