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Marie Antoinette “Let them eat cake. ” The movie Marie Antoinette sure is as sweet and colorful as cake. The film premiered worldwide on May 24, 2006. Marie Antoinette has won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. It has also won best Art Direction and Best Costume Design for both the Las Vegas and Phoenix Films Critics Society Awards. Kirsten Dunst, who plays the gorgeous Marie herself, has won the MTV Award for best Breakthrough Performance and the Saturn Award for Best Young Actress. Jason Schwartzman plays King Louis XVI, has also starred in I ?? Huckabees, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Bewitched.
Marie Antoinette is a biographical drama; meaning it is a dramatic portrayal of her life. The movie is set in the late seventeenth century in Vienna, Austria, and then moves to Versailles France. There are also many scenes shot at Marie’s Petit Trianon, a small “village” for her own personal use. The production crew for Marie Antoinette was surprisingly given access to these places for the film. The main character, obviously Marie Antoinette, or the dauphine, is sent off to France at age fourteen.
She depicts the characteristics of any normal teenage girl: a passion for fashion, love of anything sweet and sugary, and your regular party animal. Her husband, King Louis XVI, or the dauphin, is an extremely mature, but shy fifteen-year-old. His hobbies include, hunting and making locks and keys. His father, Louis XV, is extremely promiscuous, allowing his mistress, Madame du Barry, to accompany him when he is with the Court. Later in the dauphine’s life, Count Fersen comes along, a soldier who was sent to America to fight the Revolution. He is a seventeenth century McSteamy.
Considering the film was set many centuries ago, the actors and actresses in the film do an outstanding job representing these historical icons. Her mother, Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, selected Marie Antoinette to seal the alliance between Austria and France. The dauphine travels to a small island in the middle of the Rhine River, on the border of the two countries, where a “crossing-over” ceremony takes place. She must leave behind anything that had belonged to her. Marie then arrives on France, pinned, curled, stuffed, and fluffed.
She marries the dauphin, Louis XVI, bearing in mind that her place at Versailles is not permanent. As time passes, the dauphine is stifled by the proper and conservative life style. She is snubbed upon for not yet producing an heir and being so unsophisticated. Slowly she gets accustomed to her new life, and forms a small clique with some ladies of the Court. She finds solace in spending money. She goes wild, splurging on gorgeous gowns and shoes, gorging out on elaborate sweets, and gambling like she was Oprah in Las Vegas.
One night, Louis, Marie, and her ladies hit the Paris Opera to attend a masked ball. The frivolous dauphine runs into Count Fersen, a soldier in the French Army. He is the definition of a “swoon-over”. She is smitten by his handsome and gentle nature, but soon departs for Versailles. Once they return, they’re alerted that the king is infected by small pox, and doesn’t have much time. He rids the castle, with much regret, of his mistress, du Barry before he passes. The new king, Louis XVI, drops to his knees, praying to God to direct the inexperienced leaders, quoting, “We are too young to rule. France gradually falls into debt as Marie continues throwing her lavish celebrations, and the king sends money to foreign wars. As luck has it, Marie finally becomes pregnant, but gives birth to a little girl. She once again encounter Count Fersen, as he is back from fighting our Revolution. This begins a heated affair between the two. On a happy note, France is finally blessed with an heir, but they also slip further into debt. Because of Louis’ support of the American Revolution, France begins their own. Riots form, Marie has earned the title, “Queen of Debt”, and has lost any respected image among her subjects.
This where I leave you, to sit and ponder the outcome. You will have to see for yourself, exactly what happens to the King and Queen. Marie Antoinette won several awards for costume design. I felt this was most noticeable throughout the film. What it must have cost to have all those gowns, shoes, jewels, or any other attire, made or tracked down is unimaginable. Getting in costume and makeup was probably the most lengthy process. The most elaborate scene, I believe, was when Marie was having a party with her ladies.
She wasted the day away trying on imported heels, having gowns sewn directly to her body, sampling the most divine delicacies, and getting fixed with a sky-high, powdered beehive, complete with faux feathers, birds, and pearls. There are many intentional goofs in Marie Antoinette. In one scene, when she is trying on shoes, a pair of light blue high-top Converse can be seen next to Marie. The director, Sofia Coppola, states that the shoes were placed there intentionally, to add humor to the fact that the dauphine was still a teenager. Another goof-up was the use of the color hot pink.
This color had not shown up until the mid nineteenth century. This made the movie seem more playful and light-hearted, and also symbolized Marie’s adolescence. Over all, Marie Antoinette is a fun, modern look at the French queen’s life. I’m satisfied with the outcome of the movie. It is more of a work of fiction. You feel as a normal teenage girl from the twentieth century is placed back in time. If you choose to view this movie, keep in mind that it’s not just another special on the History Channel, it’s a piece of art. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette_(2006_film)