Coppola’s Antoinette

Cannes begins today, and Sofia Coppola’s new film, Marie-Antoinette, is already nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film, starring Kirsten Dunst, chronicles the short life of (you guessed) Viennese-born Marie-Antoinette, the girl who became Queen of France before getting her head chopped off. Jason Schwartzman stars as Louis XVI, and there’s no Branagh or Blanchett to be found. No, it’s not a comedy.

I don’t know what to think about this. I adored Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, but I’m having trouble picturing how this film will play out with such young faces. Hopefully she’ll prove me wrong. I’m disheartened by what I’ve read so far:

“I just saw Sofia Coppola’s Marie-Antoinette,” says a French film critic whose name I should probably keep under wraps. “Empty shell, boring as hell. Don’t know if the Cannes jury is gonna buy it, but the average moviegoer will suffer deeply watching gilded 18th-Century types people get bored, eat, drink, and get bored again. Movies about boredom and filling spaces are tricky to film. Coppola did it right with Lost in Translation, but this time she fails completely, in my opinion. You were right about the parallel between Marie Antoinette and the Paris Hilton crowd . It’s here. The rock soundtrack works in the beginning, but quickly turns into a gimmick that doesn’t hold for two hours.” (Link)

You can watch the trailer here. It’s no surprise that the movie looks amazing, asthetically. Is it just me or is it really weird to hear New Order against gallants on horseback? The rest of the soundtrack features songs by Gang of Four, Aphex Twin, Windsor for the Derby, Air, The Strokes, and a couple Bow Wow Wow covers by Kevin Shields.

As a design aside, what is up with that purple-pink monstrosity? That can’t be the final version, just can’t be. Because, like, it just can’t be the final version. Oh wait, this is a little better, but I still don’t get that font.

It will be truly interesting, however, to see Coppola’s treatment of a costume drama. Now, considering the cast also includes Rip Torn and Molly Shannon (where’s Yakov? Tony Danza?), you can bet there is a bit of tongue-in-cheek pop-scene dusting the surface of the entire film, while the same movie, made by someone else, would totally be one of those “In a time … ” pieces. Coppola herself admits to her purposeful decision to shape the genre to her liking, saying (to French magazine Les Inrockuptibles), “At some point in the film one can even see briefly a pair of Converse shoes next to a series of period shoes. That kind of shot allows us to say that we’re not going to follow 100% the rules of the genre, to cut with the sometimes burdensome aspect some period films may have. Similarly I didn’t try to imitate the XVIIIth century picturality at all.”

She goes on to tell the magazine that she can “live without music”, but that her favorite album right now is Phoenix’s. Interesting.

I’ll see it, though, on the merits of Jason Schwartzman.

I’m so glad to hear she didn’t try to imitate the XVIIIth century picturality. That might’ve come off as pretentious.

she deserves some kind of award just for keeping kevin shields working.

oy, this scares me a little. my OCD won’t allow me to open my mind enough to enjoy modern adaptations of historical works (could not bring myself to see the danes/dicaprio R&J…i know there are others, but my mind is blanking…) i guess i just enjoy seeing the scenery, hearing the music, etc of the period. new order and marie antoinette just seems wrong. god, i’m such an old woman sometimes.