"You represent the future." -- Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette"
Pauline Kael wrote of Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango In Paris" in 1972, "(You) have altered the face of an art form. Who was prepared for that?" She was wrong about "Paris", though it was a remarkable film. And the "sustained... (and) hypnotic excitement" that awed Kael disappeared almost entirely from movie screens amidst the great flock of blockbusters to come in the second half of the decade.
But she might say the same about Coppola's third, most confident, and boldest film. And possibly be right this time.
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One "Marie Antoinette" --
Start with Malick's "Days of Heaven". Flavor with "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet". Toss in a twist of "The Madness of King George." Allow Coppola to bake to perfection. Voila! A masterpiece.
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With a heavy dose of punk on the soundtrack, no accents in use by the major cast members, and absolutely no guillotines to be seen, the director has chosen to break new ground in the biopic form. For that she was hissed by some in a largely French audience at Cannes. And for that she likely will bring home another Oscar, either for directing or screenplay. If not, or possibly in addition to, DP Lance Acord will win for an astonishingly beautiful vision brought to life.
From the moment Gang of Four rips through "Natural's Not it" while Kirsten Dunst's lovely Antoinette dips her index finger into a waiting cake, then leers at the camera and giggles, you know this one's going to be different. And thank goodness for that.
With a $40m budget, though, "MA" will have to do much better at the box office than expected for Columbia to walk away truly happy. This is not a movie that will bring in large audiences, as the unexpectedness and unusualness of the whole thing will likely keep away many. I wonder if Coppola will ever again be given the amount of funding that "MA" received, should the movie disappoint the studio number crunchers.
Great performances abound in the film, as they always do for Coppola. Dunst proves worthy of carrying the film; playing the Queen of France as a kindhearted, self involved party girl who mostly just wants to have fun. Jason Schwartzman is almost unrecognizable without the usual three days of growth, but nails the most thankless role as Louis XVI, a selfish and boorish King whose lack of interest in the role of governing certainly was a boon to the revolutionaries and whose lack of sex drive caused tongues to wag incessantly at Versailles. As for Steve Coogan's Ambassador Mercy, I apologize for continually expecting him to interrupt whatever he was saying, turn to the camera, and say something hilarious. He better make a lot of movies, because I'll have a hard time forgetting "A Cock and Bull Story." Veterans such as Rip Torn, Judy Davis, and even a very catty Molly Shannon are wonderful.
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From now on, movie lovers may well recall 2006 primarily as the year that Coppola gave us 'Marie Antoinette".
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Edit 10/22/06:
Sorry. It was Gang of Four, not Siouxsie & The Banshees that played over Marie's opening scene.
But she might say the same about Coppola's third, most confident, and boldest film. And possibly be right this time.
=================================
One "Marie Antoinette" --
Start with Malick's "Days of Heaven". Flavor with "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet". Toss in a twist of "The Madness of King George." Allow Coppola to bake to perfection. Voila! A masterpiece.
---------------------------------------------
With a heavy dose of punk on the soundtrack, no accents in use by the major cast members, and absolutely no guillotines to be seen, the director has chosen to break new ground in the biopic form. For that she was hissed by some in a largely French audience at Cannes. And for that she likely will bring home another Oscar, either for directing or screenplay. If not, or possibly in addition to, DP Lance Acord will win for an astonishingly beautiful vision brought to life.
From the moment Gang of Four rips through "Natural's Not it" while Kirsten Dunst's lovely Antoinette dips her index finger into a waiting cake, then leers at the camera and giggles, you know this one's going to be different. And thank goodness for that.
With a $40m budget, though, "MA" will have to do much better at the box office than expected for Columbia to walk away truly happy. This is not a movie that will bring in large audiences, as the unexpectedness and unusualness of the whole thing will likely keep away many. I wonder if Coppola will ever again be given the amount of funding that "MA" received, should the movie disappoint the studio number crunchers.
Great performances abound in the film, as they always do for Coppola. Dunst proves worthy of carrying the film; playing the Queen of France as a kindhearted, self involved party girl who mostly just wants to have fun. Jason Schwartzman is almost unrecognizable without the usual three days of growth, but nails the most thankless role as Louis XVI, a selfish and boorish King whose lack of interest in the role of governing certainly was a boon to the revolutionaries and whose lack of sex drive caused tongues to wag incessantly at Versailles. As for Steve Coogan's Ambassador Mercy, I apologize for continually expecting him to interrupt whatever he was saying, turn to the camera, and say something hilarious. He better make a lot of movies, because I'll have a hard time forgetting "A Cock and Bull Story." Veterans such as Rip Torn, Judy Davis, and even a very catty Molly Shannon are wonderful.
=============================
From now on, movie lovers may well recall 2006 primarily as the year that Coppola gave us 'Marie Antoinette".
=============================
Edit 10/22/06:
Sorry. It was Gang of Four, not Siouxsie & The Banshees that played over Marie's opening scene.
posted by joe sweeney at 4:25 PM
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