Let them eat cake!

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2012)

I am absolutely obsessed with this film. Sofia Coppola brilliantly captures Marie Antoinette's true spirit: not as an evil queen, but as a naive and young ruler that doesn't fully know the circumstance her people are in outside the walls of Versailles.
Critics seem to have either loved or hated the film, but before you listen to those snubbing the biopic because it "didn't capture the dark reality of the French Revolution" or "Kirsten Dunst was too nice when playing Antoinette", keep in mind that these are people that really need to study up on their history.
First of all, Marie Antoinette never actually said "let them eat cake". In Rousseau's book, Confessions, he writes: "Finally I recalled the stopgap solution of a great princess who was told that the peasants had no bread, and who responded: 'Let them eat brioche.'" But this was written years before Antoinette even arrived in France. I think that Kirsten Dunst really captured Antoinette's sweet, care-free, bohemian spirit, and she was perfectly cast in the role.
Second, this film is NOT about the French Revolution. It's about the life of Marie Antoinette. Was the revolution dark, bloody, and horrific? Absolutely. But Antoinette was never exposed to the harsh world of the rebellion until the very end of her life.
This is essentially the entire point of the film-to show that Antoinette was not evil, just misunderstood. She wasn't really aware of the poverty in France and when critics say that the film was too fluffy and not dark enough, they should know that that's exactly what her life was like.
With that said, this film was also amazing not just because of the great script but for several other reasons:
1) The acting was perfect. As an actress, I found the honesty in each actor's performance to be real and thoughtful, and Dunst truly "ruled" as the title role. Other favorites of mine include Rose Byrne, who played the Duchesse de Polignac, the silly, outgoing, and often tipsy friend of Antoinette. She was funny and charming. I also enjoyed the performance of Jamie Dornan as Count Axel Fersen, Marie Antoinette's love interest. Overall, the casting was great.
2) DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THOSE COSTUMES. One word=gorgeous. Go to Google Images and you'll know what I mean.
3) The music was flawless. I loved that Coppola chose to include not only Baroque pieces but also songs from post-punk, New Wave bands from the 80's, as well as some indie thrown in for good measure. My favorite songs in the movie include "Natural's Not In It" by Gang of Four, "What Ever Happened?" by The Strokes, and "Kings of the Wild Frontier" by Adam and the Ants.
The only critique I have for the film is that the romance between Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen should have had a bigger part in the film than it did. I would have loved to see more of them together. In addition, the pregnancy conflict (I don't want to write any spoilers so I won't go in depth about this) shouldn't be as long as it was.
Other than that, this movie is a must-see. I've seen it at least 10 times and I'll probably be seeing it more.
Enjoy!