let them eat cake!

yesterday i watched the movie marie antoinette and i really liked it. i remember wanting to see it when it was in the theatres, but i didn't. i very rarely spend the $10 to see a movie. they come out on dvd only a few months after they're in the theatre, so i just wait it out and watch them on the comfort of my own couch. i remember hearing mixed reviews when marie antoinette first came out. i mostly remember that critics said it was too modernized and the current music did not fit with the historical setting of the movie, but the modern look and tone of the movie are what i liked best about it.

i thought the movie was a lot of fun to watch. it was really filmed at the castle in versaille where maire antoinette and louis xvi lived. and the castle is beautiful - it's so grand and ornate. i loved thinking about what it was like to live there centuries ago. the entire set was so beautiful to watch. in one of the features on the dvd where sofia coppola was interviewed, she stated that the film set was very girly, and it was. the colors were of pastels, sorbets, and flowery prints. the lighting was bright - inside the castle and out in the fields and gardens. there were scenes full of cupcakes, cookies, candies, and flowers - what girl doesn't love those things? even though the dresses worn over the tight corsets were probably very uncomfortable, i wanted one. like i really wanted one of the dresses, but in the 2007 version.

kirstin dunst plays marie antoinette. usually she annoys me, but she was a good fit in this film. she was believable as a young girl who has been thrown into an adult life that she is not ready for. and i don't know what it is about jason schwartzman, but he cracks me up. he plays louis xvi and as my friend put it, he was a good fit for his role as a man child. the interaction between the characters of kirstin and jason were awkward and uncomfortable at times, but believable. not many words were passed between them, but you understood their feelings about taking on the overwhelming role of king and queen and their feelings about being together.

marie antoinette: so, i hear you make keys for a hobby?

louis xvi: yes.

marie antoinette:...and do you enjoy making keys?

louis xvi: obviously.

after watching this film, i think sofia coppola is amazing. i have respect for directors in general, but it's even more impressive that she is a female director. i loved that she made the film fun to watch through the elaborate, colorful sets and the modern music, but also managed to tell the story from marie antoinette's point of view. the movie did leave me wanting more, but as she stated in an interview on the dvd, the story of marie antoinette is complex and difficult to thoroughly tell in a movie. luckily i have the biography of marie antoinette by antonia fraser, which sofia loosely based the movie on. i will soon read the book and learn more about the full story of marie antoinette while picturing the vibrant movie set in my head.