Good Idea, Bad Execution (no pun intended)

Rating: 3/10 (23 October 2006)

Much like its titular subject, "Marie Antoinette" seemed to have run out of money in its final stages and suffers from a terrible ending. Coppola continues her exploration of beautiful bored girls, and to her credit, no one does boredom like Sophia Coppola. I like how she compares the opulence of 18th century France to 1980s US/UK. But the film doesn't have the zippy pacing necessary to pull off what was intended to be a fun and frivolous ride. Instead we are left with a tedious and frivolous ride...a disappointing combination considering the wealth of talent involved in the production. On top of that, I will never understand the decision to end the story with Marie's exile and not her execution. We're not even given a HINT of what's to come! No arrest, no explanation of her treason. Sure, many of us know what happened in the end; we don't need to see the guillotine drop. But honestly, if you came into this film without any knowledge of the full story, you would probably leave thinking, "How sad! Paris Hil---, I mean Marie Antoinette had to leave behind her pretty palace and all those cakes and shoes!"