Slow, but they stopped too soon.

Rating: 4/10 (22 October 2006)

If the purpose of this movie was to convey the tedium of living as royalty in 18th century France, it was a success. If it was to portray a more 3-dimensional image of Marie Antoinette than what we get in high school history class, it was a failure. At the end of the movie, she still seemed 2-dimensional. I did think the costumes, makeup and scenery were all splendid, as befitting a big-budget movie. I found the mix of modern and classical music disconcerting. It seemed quite surreal at times, and made the whole movie less authentic . I found myself wondering about the historical accuracy of much of the content (doubts which a quick online history review supports).
Much - no, most of the movie focused on court life at Versailles, only briefly alluding to the riots building beyond the royal grounds. When the revolution finally forces itself on the court and the opportunity arises for character and plot development, the movie suddenly ends with a short goodbye and a still of a trashed palace room (I guess that's a spoiler). Maybe the reason they had trouble ending it there was because it shouldn't have ended there. It would be four more years before her execution. Surely, the story did not end at Versailles.