One of the best films of the year.

Rating: 9/10 (20 October 2006)

Significantly better than I expected, this is not the best film of the year but still one of my favourites. Beautifully shot, it captures the futility of the Versailles court. However, it doesn't lampoon Antoinette herself, and I would say Dunst and her portrayal represent more than just the Queen of France, but a reflection of a generation of women lost in a world of glamour and disappointment. A revisionist portrayal of Marie Antoinette's life from the time of her arrival in France, until her arrest during the French revolution.
In all honesty, I didn't much enjoy Lost in Translation, and not having seen The Virgin Suicides I suddenly see what people appreciate in her direction. She humanizes and exposes Marie Antoinette in all her mystery, as one of the most notorious historical figures of perhaps all times. Right from the beginning we realize she is under constant watch and scrutiny. The innocent young teenager who arrives in France is shunned and critised for everything she does or doesn't do. In one scene, where she is being dressed Antoinette stands there naked as the ridiculous rules of the court make for a few uncomfortable minutes where the responsibility shifts from person to person to dress her as someone of higher rank continually enters the room. There is no privacy for her, and the subject of her sex life or lack thereof is openly discussed among all members of the court. She walks down the hall and hears these fragmented conversations about her inadequacy although behind closed doors we know it's not her fault. Marie Antoinette is never even afforded friendship, those she associates with talk behind her back just like the rest and call her "that Austrian girl". Not equipped to deal with this, Antoinette turns to escapism and excess. I honestly really felt incredible sympathy for her throughout the entire film. She was lost in a world she wasn't ready for, but when she was forced to be strong she was. This has to be Dunst's best performance, I was incredibly surprised. She goes from child, to outcast, to escapist, to mother and it ends with her as a real Queen. All these changes are felt more through her performance than anything else, after becoming a mother we feel this incredible change in her demeanor and attitude, and the final tumultuous act this new determination and dedication as a failed monarch.
Coppola effectively captures Marie Antoinette's existence and especially her loneliness with her skillful direction. There is so much distance between herself and the world of the court and the world around her. There are many shots of her in these enormous rooms or corridors all alone, or separated from the group. She's framed and trapped by doorways, and there is at least in the first half an almost constant overlay of dialog and criticism that floats around as the backdrop for almost every scene. It's easy to not even notice most of it as it is so constant. Versailles itself is so excessive, surreal, and large it's a world on it's own. It's like it's own isolated country that doesn't need the outside world, it lives by it's own rules (90% of them ridiculous formality), we see why the monarchy was able to get caught up with themselves while forgetting the plights of the people. Sound and image are tied up with the defining of this film and what it stands for.
The use of modern music is heavily critised, but I think I have to agree with Ebert on this one, he says it best: "Coppola has been criticized in some circles for her use of a contemporary pop overlay -- hit songs, incongruous dialog, jarring intrusions of the Now upon the Then. But no one ever lives as Then; it is always Now. Many characters in historical films seem somehow aware that they are living in the past. Marie seems to think she is a teenager living in the present, which of course she is -- and the contemporary pop references invite the audience to share her present with ours. Forman's "Amadeus" had a little of that, with its purple wigs." Okay... I wasn't able to explain properly why I think this film is so good. To me, it captures as much Marie Antoinette as it does "the female existence", if such a thing can be defined. I think this film's worth will be appreciated over time, at least by members of my own generation whose life of futility, loneliness and boredom is reflected so perfectly on the screen. Maturity and meaning will come, but it's not there yet. This film is also stunningly beautiful, the costumes, makeup, cinematography is amazing.