Sofia Coppola and "Marie Antoinette" - Girls Just Want to Have Fun
From right to left: Antoinette star Dunst, Sofia Coppola, and a man who may have peaked at cinematic inceptionSofia Coppola went from famous director’s daughter, to wife of that Being John Malkovich guy, to an emerging young talent in her own right, making her way by earning Bill Murray (with help from Wes Anderson, to a lesser degree) the critical acclaim he’s long overdue, as well as putting two young blondes in the spotlight. While Lost in Translation was almost universally praised by critics (in fact the DVD boasts that it’s received over 80 four star reviews), her third film, Marie Antoinette, has not garnered the same warm welcome in reviews of it’s premiere at the Cannes film festival. The film, starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman, received a smattering of boos by the press after the screening, who may have been turned off by the “Coppolification” of the tale. Apparently the French in Antoinette’s days didn’t actually speak in English or listen to the Cure or Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy”. Why New Order instead of Cindi Lauper in the trailers? Comment dites-vous “historical accuracy” en francais?
Coppola defended her cotton-candy like approach to the material after the screening, saying “My biggest fear was making a ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ kind of movie…..I didn’t want to make a dry, historical period movie with the distant cold tableau of shots…In the same way I wanted ‘Lost in Translation’ to feel like you had just spent a couple of hours in Tokyo.”
Prediction: Despite mixed reviews, this film will do just fine at the box office with all the looky-loos and young’uns just dying to feast their eyes on Coppola’s new project. Make your own decision once Antoinette hits
the states in October. More coverage than you can handle below:
U.S. Trailer
“International” Trailer
Cannes Review: Marie Antoinette - Cinematical
This Marie Antoinette Has Her Head in a Totally Different Space
- Washington Post
Re-Imagining Marie Antoinette - IndieWire
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October 15th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Copolla’s Marie Antoinette was a slight, but gorgeous film. It doesn’t feel directed, rather project managed. If she has a talent, it seems to be for hiring crew. The DP, production designer and costumers did really solid work.
The film lacked, tension, irony, and in fact–drama.It felt like an assemblage, with too much reliance on impressionistic scenes, and not enough directed scenes.
If there was a point she was trying to make,
it was left unmade.
October 25th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
So Kirsten is also a painter. I’d like to see one of her works. And I can’t wait for Spiderman 4 to come out.