Tanks, Girl
Awkward title? Hey, we have no editorial control over titles. We write, "they" score 'em, so to speak.
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Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette"?
As good a movie as was released last year, and there were a bunch of very, very good ones. This one, like all potentially great ones, needs time to season. But we'll guess it is "great."
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This is the ultimate Chick Film:
Coppola shows how a woman's role in the world has always been defined by her ability to produce children; male children.
And she includes lots of pretty dresses in the film, too. Nice.
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When a director chooses to open a movie with bouts of silence, it's always a sign of brilliance or ineptitude. DJ Sofia has the brilliance part down.
On MA, thankfully, she dives right into the material and trusts her audience. Maybe not the way to make a ton of money but certainly part of making great film.
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As the King and Queen's first kiss via a roll of the dice shows us, monarchies are not born or created great or incompetent or good or evil, but are allowed to become such by their subjects. Life is chance meeting will.
Coppola took much flak from reviewers for focusing on trivialities such as punk dance balls and a final, matronly bow to a lynch mob. The professional film critics missed a heckuva film, presumedly. Do they write their reviews pre-screening? Or wait for the check to clear?
Jason Schwartzman's King Louis XVI is a petrified boy who slowly (very slowly) warms to his office and wife, and he does wonderful work with little dialogue on which to chew or not. His sacrifice is the key to Sofia's film working so well: the man of the house is Marie Antoinette.
And Kirstin Dunst's MA is wonderful in her elasticity: aging before the viewer's eyes and showing the strain of her cast in life, as well as presenting the Queen of France's grace, beauty, and, above all, joyfulness. Was the real Antoinette like this? She's been dead for centuries: Does anyone think that Cleopatra was half as hot as Liz Taylor? This is art, not reality.
As in all of Coppola's films, the casting is expertly handled:
Asia Argento as Rip Torn's Louis XV mistress brings raw lust and honesty to Versailles, and is not welcome.
Steve Coogan portrays the flirtatiously curt Ambassador Mercy, someone who allows his Queen a few moments of personal attention and hope of sexuality.
Shirley Henderson and Molly Shannon catify their lines and faces nicely.
And the great Judy Davis misses not one note in her performance. Is this woman not one of the great actors?
Sofia Coppola has moved herself into the realm of great directors in only a few films. The most important lesson? Choice your material wisely and pay it respect. A great movie can be made out of a slap shot, an inept hood with a funny hat, a couple of dumb guys, a bank heist where there is no bank heist, and a boxer who loses the fight. To name just a few within reach.
Go get 'em, DJ.
---------------------------------------------
Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette"?
As good a movie as was released last year, and there were a bunch of very, very good ones. This one, like all potentially great ones, needs time to season. But we'll guess it is "great."
--------------------------------------------
This is the ultimate Chick Film:
Coppola shows how a woman's role in the world has always been defined by her ability to produce children; male children.
And she includes lots of pretty dresses in the film, too. Nice.
--------------------------------------------
When a director chooses to open a movie with bouts of silence, it's always a sign of brilliance or ineptitude. DJ Sofia has the brilliance part down.
On MA, thankfully, she dives right into the material and trusts her audience. Maybe not the way to make a ton of money but certainly part of making great film.
--------------------------------------------
As the King and Queen's first kiss via a roll of the dice shows us, monarchies are not born or created great or incompetent or good or evil, but are allowed to become such by their subjects. Life is chance meeting will.
Coppola took much flak from reviewers for focusing on trivialities such as punk dance balls and a final, matronly bow to a lynch mob. The professional film critics missed a heckuva film, presumedly. Do they write their reviews pre-screening? Or wait for the check to clear?
Jason Schwartzman's King Louis XVI is a petrified boy who slowly (very slowly) warms to his office and wife, and he does wonderful work with little dialogue on which to chew or not. His sacrifice is the key to Sofia's film working so well: the man of the house is Marie Antoinette.
And Kirstin Dunst's MA is wonderful in her elasticity: aging before the viewer's eyes and showing the strain of her cast in life, as well as presenting the Queen of France's grace, beauty, and, above all, joyfulness. Was the real Antoinette like this? She's been dead for centuries: Does anyone think that Cleopatra was half as hot as Liz Taylor? This is art, not reality.
As in all of Coppola's films, the casting is expertly handled:
Asia Argento as Rip Torn's Louis XV mistress brings raw lust and honesty to Versailles, and is not welcome.
Steve Coogan portrays the flirtatiously curt Ambassador Mercy, someone who allows his Queen a few moments of personal attention and hope of sexuality.
Shirley Henderson and Molly Shannon catify their lines and faces nicely.
And the great Judy Davis misses not one note in her performance. Is this woman not one of the great actors?
Sofia Coppola has moved herself into the realm of great directors in only a few films. The most important lesson? Choice your material wisely and pay it respect. A great movie can be made out of a slap shot, an inept hood with a funny hat, a couple of dumb guys, a bank heist where there is no bank heist, and a boxer who loses the fight. To name just a few within reach.
Go get 'em, DJ.
posted by joe sweeney at 11:52 PM
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