Eye of the Beholden

Rating: 9/10 (11 November 2006)

This movie is hauntingly good. Sophia Coppola might become (or is) one of our finest film directors.
The viewer must accept that the movie is viewed exclusively, STRICTLY, through the eyes and mind of Antoinette. Some reviewers seem disappointed, cheated, etc., because the movie did not cover the broader scope of France, the Revolution, or even the debauchery and treachery of the Versaille society. Rather, it takes a young woman of some intelligence and moral character, places her in extraordinary circumstances and then watches her react. That the results are not sordid, surprising or particularly dramatic is not the fault of the main character but rather the product of her integrity and strength.
So instead of a woman who becomes a catty society bitch we have a woman who actively serves the society she joins, enjoying if not overtly recognizing the indulgence the role requires. Instead of becoming a scheming, devious wife she works at and develops a warm, if not entirely faithful, relationship with her arranged and incompetent spouse. Instead of becoming alienated from her upbringing she retains and exercises her maternal and familial roles. Marie can be forgiven if she is neither extraordinary nor controversial, despite being placed in a situation where both such attributes could be (and were) assigned by default.
The strength of the film relies on how Marie's point of view is presented. The first forty minutes of the movie has extremely limited dialogue, none of which does very much at all to explain or move a plot line. Rather, we see opulence and splendor. If you find yourself, as I did, overwhelmed and then drawn into the decadence by this mere visual display then, well, that's exactly what happened to Miss Antoinette. Less is more. Hardly a half hour and maybe a dozen lines, we start to feel for Marie, or at least appreciate the boundaries into which she is boxed. The viewer starts to pull for her.
But its a fixed game. We know the bottom line and want to tell our heroine but cannot. I had hoped before I saw this movie that we'd get a depiction of the rabble in Paris as well as some period shots of the city; i.e., to match the excellent costume of Versaille. We do not. We do not because Marie never saw such either. Our eyes are not opened because hers are never opened. But in no respect does the film milk the poor little rich girl sentiment. Conversely, a viewer leaves this movie with remorse of what may have been a more full and complete life.