Marie Antoinette

Sofia Coppola8217;s intention is not to right the wrongs about Marie Antoinette, perhaps one of the most reviled Queens in history.

Sofia Coppola8217;s intention is not to right the wrongs about Marie Antoinette, perhaps one of the most reviled Queens in history. As the music she uses to supplement her visual treat on the life of Marie Antoinette shows, Coppola wants to tell us the story of a misunderstood 19-year-old who paid too heavy a price for circumstances which were out of her control.

Was the queen guilty of cruelty, or just plain negligence? Were the others around her not equally culpable then? When told about people going hungry on the streets of France, could Marie Antoinette have indeed said, 8220;If they don8217;t have bread, let them eat cake8221;? Perhaps not.

Antonia Fraser, on whose novel the film is based, belongs to the current batch of historians who believe Marie Antoinette8217;s legendary excesses were mostly exaggerated. Many talk about her strength and bravery when the French Revolution dethroned the royals, and her devotion to her children. Others talk about the humiliation and barbs she suffered as a 14-year-old thrown into a world of senseless royal customs and endless royal intrigue including being stripped and dressed, every day, as well as giving birth in front of the royal household.

But, somewhere in her attempt at portraying the teen queen, Coppola8217;s film is lost in translation. The image we get is of Marie dressed in beautiful clothes, Marie spending her time gambling and partying, Marie indulging her passions of the moment, and Marie and friends wasting food and more food, piled up in culinary delights and left to be licked by dogs8212;not much different from the Marie we have got off history books.

Yes, there is a reason why the Austrian teen transported to France in an arranged wedding, to a man who won8217;t consummate it for a long time8212;to the public and vocal disappointment of entire Austria and France8212;has turned out that way. But Coppola8217;s Marie seems to be enjoying herself too much to care, cut off from the world beyond the huge Versailles gardens. While we can understand her seeking out the pleasures to hide her pain or to mask pure boredom, it doesn8217;t seem that she has made that calculation in her head.

Plus, Coppola8217;s film ends where Marie8217;s transformation actually began. By the time the Revolution comes snocking on Palace doors, it is almost two hours into the film, and Coppola, who has treated us to visuals of squirrels munching and flowers blowing in the wind by then, decides to wrap up.

Kirsten Dunst adds to the problem. As a Marie simplified for her generation, she seems to have stepped out of The Princess Diaries. She brings much enthusiasm to her role but there is no sense of history in her acting, no feeling that she realises what her wedding means to two countries or what being at the receiving end of a nation8217;s hatred means. Surely, 19 is not too young an age to start caring about that, nor too old to stop bothering about it.

Story continues below this ad

It8217;s perhaps telling that Coppola, who swept the awards with Lost in Translation, is only holding trophies for Best Costume Design this time.