Review – Marie Antoinette

Sofia Coppola seems to be at the end of her directorial talent in this peculiar blend of costume drama and John-Hughes-style teen angst movie. To be fair to Coppola, the approach might have seemed like it could work. The goal is to evoke sympathy for the title character, so why not use (more or less) contemporary elements to make a 18th century Queen of France into a 20th century teenager? Toss in some anachronous elements here and there (such as a pair of sneakers amid a pile of period footwear), flood the soundtrack with Bow Wow Wow (except – oddly enough – for the most obvious choice) and other music from the 80s, and get Kirsten Dunst to star. The gamble, however, is that rather than creating empathy the modern touches will end up trivializing the tale, turning the show into “My Super Louis 16.” The MTV-ization, along with a dull script, is what ultimately undermines the picture’s appeal. The DVD also includes – among other special features – an “MTV Cribs” parody in which Jason Schwartzman (remaining semi-in-character as the King of France) conducts a tour of Versailles. That packed about as much entertainment value as the feature presentation, with the added bonus of being a great deal shorter. Mildly amusing