TRH Movie – Marie Antoinette

Last week while I was in my abridging hell, I went to see a screening of Marie Antoinette for Chart (review will be up this Friday). Sometimes, I kind of wish I did more freelance, because the idea of seeing a movie first-thing in the morning with no one but other writers in the room, kind of appeals to me. It’s funny, we’re all the same with our little notebooks and pens sitting on our laps, scrawling in giant, illegible writing because it’s hard to see in the dark, obviously.

So, Marie Antoinette. Yeah, I can’t make up my mind about this film, whether I liked it or hated it, whether its genius or ridiculous, which doesn’t bode well for a coherent review. It’s pop culture history stripped of the more juicy bits (we don’t even get a beheading) leaving behind a music video that tries to recreate the social and emotional journey of the movie’s main character.

But I really like Sofia Coppola. I’ve seen The Virgin Suicides more times than I can count on my fingers and toes, and love, love, loved Lost in Translation. She has a way of pulling out great performances from actresses who, for the most part, get by on being gorgeous rather than insanely talented. She does the same with Kirsten Dunst in this picture: she’s good.

But parts of me just can’t get over the non-historical aspects of the film. I’m aching for a British accent and a good bit of Elizabeth. I’m dying to see inside Antoinette in terms of looking beyond her wardrobe and flirty fashion sequences. I’m wanting to be more engaged, I guess, with the subject matter, wanting more BBC and PBS, and, goodness help me, maybe even a dose of Keira Knightley inspired Jane Austen.

I know Coppola was trying to bring the relevance of Marie Antoinette’s life to audiences of this centry, to boldly re-tell her story in her own particular way, but I’m not quite there with her. Who knows? I can’t make up my mind. Maybe tomorrow I’ll feel differently.