The Austrian princess Marie Antoinette (Dunst) is only 14 when, in 1768, she's sent to France to marry the dauphin Louis XVI (Schwartzman), a teenager himself who wouldn't consummate the marriage for another seven years. She has to leave everything behind--family, friends, clothing, even her little dog--for a precarious new life in which even her most intimate moments have an audience. She slowly learns to live in this bewildering setting, finding trusted friends and a release through parties and a lavish lifestyle that makes her the scapegoat for an increasingly disgruntled populace.

Starting with painstaking authenticity (most dialog and situations come from first-person accounts), Coppola adds a disarmingly contemporary perspective that will horrify period snobs. Although those truly interested in history will be gripped by a soulful approach that forces us to understand what this life must actually have been like. Even the infusion of New Romantic style is eerily appropriate--and brilliantly conveyed through Milena Canonero's gorgeous costumes and Brian Reitzell's musical choices. Sometimes both at once, such as when Bow Wow Wow's I Want Candy accompanies a swirl of colourful cakes and shoes.

But the film remains closely character-based, centring on Marie Antoinette's perceptions and experiences, and the people around her: her kind but clueless husband, her patient Austrian ambassador advisor (Coogan), her rules-obsessed household mistress (Davis), the life-loving King (Torn), plus an array of in-laws, friends, lovers and hangers-on. Purists may rightly snipe that there are plenty of terrific French (or Austrian) actors who could have played these roles, but Dunst and her costars never hit a wrong note, skilfully and engagingly demythologising their characters.

And Coppola's writing and directing are exceptionally clever, playfully examining history in the light of today's celebrity-obsessed, paparazzi-infused culture while staying faithful to the real situations. Each scene looks like a painting, but the characters act like real people. As a result, the film feels jarringly true to life, and finds something important to say beyond its examination of excess and privilege.

themes, sexuality

15.Aug.06