Marie Antoinette Critique

               Marie Antoinette - Sofia Coppola - Movies - The New York Times

Marie Antoinette

    Sofia Coppola's 2006 drama/romance film, Marie Antoinette, follows the life of Marie Antoinette starting as an Austrian princess and then marrying into her title as queen of France. The film portrays her journey into adjusting to her new life in a new country and her struggle to fufill all of the duties that come with being the queen. The King’s unwillingness to consummate the marriage, and Marie’s unusual personality and beliefs puts her in an unstable and potentially dangerous position. As the film goes on, Marie Antoinette becomes more comfortable in France and gives into the luxurious and extravagant lifestyle of French aristocracy. She starts to spend large sums of money on unimportant and unnecessary things which leads the lower class people to revolt against the Kingdom, driving the King, Queen, and their children out of the castle. 

After watching this film, it was obvious to me that Sofia Copolla is an auteur. This film had an overall vibe that completely represented the extravagant and decadent lifestyle of Marie Antoinette. The color scheme of pink, blue and white, as well as the 90’s pop/rock music made the film seem very unique and distinctive to Copolla’s vision. There also tends to be repeated shots throughout the film, such as Marie looking out of a window. 

I also believe that this film accurately represents womanhood and the joys and pains that come with it. When Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI got married, Louis was distant and cold to Marie which made it impossible for them to consummate the marriage and produce an heir. While it was the King’s fault that Marie could not get pregnant, she was blamed and shunned by many people because as a woman, it was her responsibility to produce an heir. When Marie finally did get pregnant, she had a girl, and everyone was upset and uninterested in her. This represents how women were undervalued during that time and some elements of this are still seen today. But Sofia Copolla also represented the joys that come with being a woman. One scene that comes to mind is when Marie Antoinette was drinking champagne, eating desserts, and trying on clothes with her friends while the song I Want Candy played in the background. This scene was probably my favorite scene in the whole film because it felt very comforting and it accurately represented the fun parts of womanhood. 

       Marie Antoinette (2006) | MUBI 

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. While I did not love the ending, I believe that Sofia Copolla humanized Marie Antoinette and made the audience feel empathy and love towards such a villanized historical figure. The colors and music in this film made it feel very bubly, luxurious, and fun and I will definitely recommend Marie Antoinette to anyone looking for a unique representation of history. 

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