The Good and the Bad

Rating: 4/10 (25 March 2007)

It is visually a beautiful movie in every aspect (even down to the food), and the casting was well done. The movie stays true to history with a current modern appeal. However, the director wastes a lot of time getting to the real interest of the story (or even getting to the story). For example, we see many repetitive shots of the process Marie goes through to get dressed each day, and many scenes of Marie and Louis going to bed at night and not consummating the marriage (we get it - didn't need to see it over and over). There was no value added to the constant repetition in this movie. Why not illustrate more of Marie Antoinette's life? There was so much more. As in "Lost In Translation" and "Marie Antoinette," the director's immaturity is quite clear. There is not much story, no flow or consistency of how we got from point A to point B, and hmmm, what's editing? There is too much concentration devoted to the speculation of the main character's personality and not enough to the story. It's like watching something that is directed by a teenager utilizing truly gifted professionals for the rest - a diamond in the rough with the "rough" being the direction. Everything else is done with excellent clarity and detail. I give costume, set and cinematography an A - the idea of how the director wanted to portray Marie Antoinette was creative (mixing the 1700s w/ modern flair,) but the actual application of how it was put together was very weak. I stayed with it simply for the costumes and the set direction (and I was waiting for the historic ending but it never came - disappointing).