Review: Marie Antoinette

It has been a while since I last posted a review to this site, but it has also been a long time since I last saw a movie. So, here is one of two movies that we were able to squeeze in on a Saturday night.

Marie Antoinette follows the life of the Austrian Princess from the time that she is betrothed to the Dauphin to the time that she flees Versailles in the midst of the French treason of 1789. Putatively this is a period piece. There are plenty of lavish scenes of the royal court and lives the courtesans. Some of the most interesting points in the movie involve the elaborate ritual of the court as seen from the perspective of the relative outsider.

There were three things that I found objectionable about this movie. The first was the infusions of contemporary music into the score. It was distracting to hear an electic guitar and punk music being played over scenes set in 18th century Versailles. Related to that was the use of montage in order to speed through the passage of time. Such a device is often one of the last resource of a screen writer trying to salvage a poor script. Finally was the constant attention paid to the issue of the consummation of the marriage of Marie and Louis. This did not have to be the subject of the first half of the film. Though an important part of the film it takes too much attention away from other issues that play a larger role in the downfall of the rightful kings of France in the inevitable treason at the end (I am not spoiling anything here because it is a matter of historical fact. If me revealing the fact that Marie was involved in the French Revolution is news to you, then I do not want you reading this blog anyway, feel free to spend your time reading a history book). There is no doubt that the foibles of the Royal couple had something to do with the revolution, and that revolution looms over the entire film. It is an inevitable fact and the movie does not adequately deal with that fact.

It must be difficult to write a film about a story where everyone knows the ending, but that cannot be helped. The writer and director must come up with a strategy for dealing with this fact. This film did not do that, and that is a significant failing. Despite some of the better aspects of it.

On the Chris Choice Rating Scale Marie Antoinette gets one star
*