Normal people leading Freaky lives

That is how I would summarize Marie Antoinette, the 2006 movie by Sophia Coppola starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman. Actually, I liked it quite a bit. I got it from the library, after thinking, "Oh, that got really bad reviews, didn't it? What the heck, it will be fun to watch a bit of it." And in fact, the $40 million dollar movie only made about $15 million in the US, so I guess it was not a success.

Of course, it tells the story of Marie Antoinette, the famous French queen. She was only 14 when she was married off to the Dauphin of France, Louis XVI, made queen at age 19, and was killed at age 37.

First of all the movie is GEORGEOUS. It has the most stunning style, all cotton candy colors, bows, ribbons, pasties, pies and feathers. Beautiful food styling. Fantastic costumes, lighting, and set decorations. Probably one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Shot at Versailles (mostly), the indoor scenes are breathtaking, while the outdoors scenes are equally beautiful, even without the gold trim and mirrors. Check out the pastries on the table in the back of this shot:


Or the color of Marie's gown in this picture:


I think the idea that Sophia Coppola had was that these were just two ordinary people, put into the most unnatural lives imaginable. Marie didn't even dress herself, apparently it was an honor and a badge of rank to be able to put on her underwear for her. There were people to greet the royal couple every morning when they got up, which made it even more excruciating that their marriage was unconsummated for seven years (apparently Louis's fault...) and they ate side by side, not facing each other, in a large room where they were gawked at by the court, only getting a drink of water when aided by two people. They were forced to marry total stranger, and had no control over their own lives.

I know that of millions of French women living at this time, only one had such a life, so maybe it is not worth all the attention we give to royalty, given that they are such a tiny minority of the total population. But the fascination remains, because I can just not imagine a life like that. Worse than today's celebrities, these people lived under a weight of protocol and tradition that was just crushing. Also, Marie is expected to be a diplomat, even at age 15. She was married off to seal an alliance, and she still is expected to care about politics and act in Austria's (and France's ) best interests.

I think the movie does a good job of relating how extraordinary these lives were, even when the people living them were most ordinary. Jason Schwartzman does a really good job at this, as his Louis seems most nebbish, ordinary, and totally uninterested and unprepared at being king. The man does not even know how to make love, much less rule the most populous country in Europe.

One of the main criticisms of the movie was that it was not politically aware enough, but to me, that is almost the point she was trying to make, how can you expect political awareness from a 14-year old, who was treated like chattel and completely insulated from the real world. Apparently even at age 12 was almost unable to read and write, so little schooling and practical learning had she been given.

Now, don't expect a masterpiece, but if you like pretty clothes, fun music, and things to think about, then you might like it too!

P.S. It was released on my Birthday, October 20, a fact which I just found out from reading Wikipedia.