Pretty to look at not so fun to watch

Rating: 6/10 (5 March 2007)

As a history fanatic I found this movie right on target with what really happened in the life of Marie Antoinette. As much as I loved Sofia Coppola's previous movies this one was lacking something. The actors and actress were great as well as the setting (at real locations, no less) and the costumes but still something irritated me about this movie. Oh yes, the music! Maybe Sofia was trying to convey some message about how young they were and portrayed their youthfulness through the soundtrack, who knows but it was out of place in such a beautifully filmed movie.
Kirsten Dunst was stunning, as usual in this film. She oddly looked like Diana Scarwid in her Mommie Dearest role in a few scenes. The chemistry between her and Jason Schwartzman was minimal, which since in real life the King and Queen were not too thrilled with one another at the beginning of their relationship, this was fitting. But toward the end, there seemed a tenderness toward one another that I thought they played on very well with gestures and looks.
I loved Jason Schwartzman's portrayal of King Louis XVI. From accounts the King was quiet, shy, said little to most and loved to hunt. Jason pulled this off perfectly and left you feeling sorry for him toward the end of this movie.
Character development was little. Toward the end of the movie I really didn't care what happened to them and the ending might have been fitting so not to dwell on their depressing fate but I still felt cheated in the end and all I was thinking of was how pretty this movie was too look at. And it made me want to go eat oodles of fancy cakes. Some of the actors spoke with an accent while most did not but it did not bother me as much as I thought it would with a period film.
Overall I gave this movie a 6 because of the fact that it was such a darn pretty movie! It had much more potential if it had more character development and a not the music-video-gone-wrong soundtrack.