Marie Antoinette
There is a term bounded around the critical circles when a film is visually stunning but lacks in the plot department; “style over substance.” I like to call it the Zack Synder effect, where the advancing technology drenches the characters a stunningly visual world and subsequently over saturates the film. A lot of these criticisms are justified, Watchmen, 300 and Sin City are just a few to fall under that umbrella (see, I mean it when I am talking about the Synder effect.) Sometimes, I think people use it as an excuse for themselves not seeing beneath the beauty, like the evocative 2006 film The Fall (which. you. should. all. watch). Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette is cursed by it exquisite looks. Because people are heavily distracted by the beauty, but don’t see the redolent character beneath it.
Marie Antoinette is the 2006 historical drama based on the infamous titular figurehead who falsely decreed; “let them eat cake.” As Austrian Princess Marie is married into France royalty after her mother wants to strength the relationship between the countries, the young girl, whilst sweet, is naïve about her life. He husband has no interest in sex with her (or is shying away) and rumours about her soon start to spread throughout her subjects. Dabbling with the richness whilst trying to seduce her husband, Antoinette must find her own voice aganst a world telling her what to do.
Yes. The style is the highlight of this entire film, that and the retro-pop score. It’s simply divine, combining historical and lavish features with modern hyper-active colours. The saturation of an entire spectrum date is weaved onto the costumes, the wigs, the grandeur palace and even the food or drink is coated with striking hues. Coppola allows the historical debutant fashion to mix with the modernised fashion, with even Converse appearing in one scene. It’s with this that Marie Antoinette shines, easily scooping up its cult status as it is a visual feast that is divine.
Underneath the current, whilst not focusing too much on the political side of things, is this archaic yet youthful character of Maria is sublimely misjudged by audiences, both in film and outside it. Played by the highly underrated yet effervescent Kirsten Dunst, Maria is forced into this vibrant yet hollow world of royalty and becomes the figurehead for much hate when the jewels of her richness is thrust upon her. Coppola and Dunst are both very keen to not make her truly unforgiveable but still gives her the depth of understanding that we engage in her stories completely. The character is put through the social pressures and then lavishes herself to complete that longing insider. As she quickly starts to lose disfavour, with her people, Dunst conveys the worry and pain.
The film Marie Antoinette may be bestowed with riches and jewels to make it gleam so much so that the beauty can be distracting from the true heart of the story, pulsating under corsets and wigs. Then again, a lot of that may be the point. Though it does seem to skirt quickly over the politics here, if you dig deeper, this vapid aristocrat is actually a hurt, scared child who was thrust into royalty and had been gossiped about ever since. Under the watchful eye of history, Antoinette suffered the sharp side of the axe. Here, everyone is keen to explore the character rather than the scandal, and it is eloquently done.