Flows like a nostalgic memory in your subconscious

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2006)

I admit, going into the theater I was already a Sofia-fanatic, and I had built up the hype of this film so much, everyone that I knew told me I was doomed for disappointment. I wasn't - I loved this film; and, I'm aware that even though this is true, many people won't like it (it's amazing the indifference Ms. Coppola brings). I'm also aware that in the confines of this small review, I cannot persuade people to love this movie more than they already do, or more than they might hate it, just as I will not be influenced by a seminar on the immensity "Armageddon" had on the action genre.
As the director's third film, "Marie Antoinette" is Coppola's most opulent and lavish film, with the 40 million dollar budget to prove. The cinematography, sets, and costumes shine in the film's afternoon, lazy-daisy atmospheric sunlight. Coppola's ode to nature is apparent from the start to finish. The quaint sounds of the wind and chirping birds give the film an airy, and somewhat angelic, feel (the juxtaposition of these natural sounds versus the painfully structured court and etiquette give light to Coppola's mindset that this is not natural life). "If we assume man has been corrupted by an artificial civilization, what is the natural state? The state of nature from which he has been removed? Imagine, walking up and down the forest without industry, without speech, and without home." Rousseau's quote is pitch-perfect in identifying this balance, and is fit beautifully into the film.
New York, London, Munich, Paris, everybody talk about Pop Muzik. Yes, I do think M's "Pop Muzik" would have worked wonderfully into some of the movie's candy-filled and excessive decorum-fiend montages. I also feel like buying Coppola a copy of a Cocteau Twins album and demanding a director's cut (one that didn't include a Bow Wow Wow version of "Fools Rush In"). Anyway, the pop music worked. Not only did it put Antoinette's age in perspective, but also allowed a fresh twist on a dulling genre. Although, I do think the original "Age of Consent" by New Order would have worked lyrically well over "Ceremony" or even the gang of Four track. The classical pieces were wonderful as well (Dustin O'Halloran's piano solos are magnificent in displaying the melancholy of her later life, as well as the echoing sounds of boredom that filled the Versailles halls).
"Marie Antoinette" is an intimate experience. Let the celestial bliss that is the blue-sky aura of the film soak into your senses.