I decided to watch Marie Antoinette after I remembered that it was directed by Sofia Coppola, who also made Lost In Translation and The Virgin Suicides, the latter of which I have not seen yet. I am a huge fan of the former though, and for that reason I decided to watch it. The fact that Kirsten Dunst played the lead role didn't hurt either.
I do not know much about Marie-Antoinette's real life, so I will not be able to judge the movie based on historical accuracy. I always find it corny in movies that portray non-English speaking Europeans when they just use actors with British accents so that the North American audience can think to themselves: 'That sounds like a foreign accent, they must not be from here.' This movie was no exception to that, however there was some French in there, as well as American and British accents. This didn't really help, as Marie-Antoinette was Austrian, but had an American accent. I'm just glad that Sofia was not going for perfection in this area... I think.
With that aside, the movie was very enjoyable to watch. Jason Schwartzman, who played Louis XVI, was hilarious, as he usually is. Kirsten Dunst was able to follow the theme well that Sofia Coppola seems to use in her movies: someone introduced to a new environment, and they are lost and isolated. Sofia used this to show how Marie was just a normal person, as opposed to biographies that represent her as an egocentric 'leader'. In this movie, however, she breaks the theme and does eventually fall into this category that so many have seemed to clump her into. This movie really makes you sympathize for Marie knowing what happens to her after the movie ends. If you don't know, then look it up after watching this movie.
Overall, I enjoyed it very much. The setting was very beautiful, and it is very fortunate that they were able to shoot on location at the Palace of Versailles, because it really made the movie believable. Also, Sofia Coppola has one of the best music tastes I have ever heard; the soundtrack for this movie was flawless. I give this movie a 7.8/10.
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