Yes, I am wise, but it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price, but look how much I've gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman.
Helen Reddy "I Am Woman"
Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world
I want to be the one to walk in the sun
Oh girls they want to have fun
Girls just want to have fun.
Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
Women's lib to frolicking fun -- as they used to say in a cigarette ad targeting women from long ago, "You've come a long way baby." The reality, though, is that many women want to and can have both -- as long as they play their cards right -- and thus have their cake and eat it too.
All of which thematically and historically takes us to another famous cake line, albeit one not quite so empowering, upbeat or friendly, That, of course, is the reported "Let them eat cake" quote from France's pre-revolutionary "darling," Marie Antoinette. Forced into a prearranged, nationally significant marriage to dauphin Louis-Auguste at the ripe old age of 14, she married a year after that, became queen and mother a few trips around the sun later, and then rode a wave of unpopularity until an unfortunate meeting with the guillotine in 1793.
In director Sophia Coppola's revisionist view of the famous lass who eventually lost her head over true or fabricated tales of her spouting that infamous line while the French people went hungry, our lovely heroine is portrayed by the gorgeous Kirsten Dunst, surrounded by all of the beautiful but stifling trappings of the court at Versailles (and if you've ever visited the palace, you immediately understand how and why).
Yet, rather than a historically accurate portrayal and retelling of the tale, Coppola and company drive home the point -- and then some -- that Ms. Antoinette was just like any other girl of the past or more notably the present who, in true Lauper fashion, just wants to have fun.
That's first noticed in a contemporary song heard in the opening credits, a tune decidedly not played on the harpsichord. It's obviously a mood setter as is, apparently, the casting of Jason Schwartzman as the dauphin and Rip Torn as his randy grandfather, King Louis XV.
For a brief while, period classical music dominates the soundtrack as the story is set up, but once Marie becomes accustomed to her literal and figurative trappings, the pop and rock songs return with a vengeance. That even includes a clothing montage (Orbison's "Pretty Woman" having previously being used in a similar scene of the film of the same name, and Lauper's signature ditty perhaps being too obvious, Coppola chose a remix of Bow Wow Wow's lively "I Want Candy").
While all of that might work thematically, it's a bit jarring as this is otherwise a period piece (in case you were wondering, the characters don't hear the music) compared to say, Baz Luhrmann's updated retelling of "Romeo and Juliet" or having his period "Moulin Rouge!" characters singing contemporary pop tunes.
Appropriately enough, I suppose, for the empowered "want to have fun" symbolism, the film is visually stunning to behold. Shot in the real palace (the first film to be bestowed that honor), it's all eye candy all of the time. The terrific production design and fabulous costumes should easily earn nominations come that end of the year award time season, even if they, like the rest of the film, aren't always historically accurate.
Yet, notwithstanding the lush veneer and a few infectiously bubbly moments, the film -- at right around two hours -- is otherwise mostly rather boring. Some of that obviously stems from representing the boredom Marie faced in her stuffy royal confines. The rest, though, can possibly be attributed to Coppola seemingly get lost -- no, not in translation -- but in all of the sumptuous design, as if intoxicated and/or overwhelmed by all of the beauty to the point that she forgot to make an interesting picture.
To be fair, Coppola -- working from her own screenplay loosely based on Antonia Fraser's work "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" -- does continue with the themes (of trying to find oneself as well as happiness while isolated in one fashion or another) that also fueled her earlier works, "Lost in Translation" and "The Virgin Suicides."
Here, Marie is something akin to a foreign exchange student at a new high school who must contend with the rules, changes in culture, and rampant gossip, not to mention an inexperienced "boyfriend" who only brings her further ridicule and scorn from the established masses. Early on, while waiting for someone, anyone to dress her in the morning while standing around nude, she complains, "This is ridiculous." The even-keeled headmistress (Judy Davis) corrects her with the reply, "This is Versailles."
Thus, rather than try to swim upstream, she opts to just go with the palace flow, eventually relishing the lavish and decadent lifestyle thrust upon and afforded her. While that no doubt happened in real life to some degree, there could be a gender split in viewer reaction where men (at least most straight ones) might eventually tire of the "woe is me so I'll spend money on clothes and bed a cute Swedish count" material, while women and those who like things girlishly pretty may just love every bit of it.
Then there's the issue that Coppola forgoes most any surrounding political or historical facts in favor of the above, at least until late in the film. That's when talk of France supporting the American revolution arrives, eventually followed by that of the French masses storming the Bastille and then whipping up a revolution starting at Versailles. This eventual introduction puts a damper on things (in both the film's story and the viewer going along for the sumptuous ride), but I supposed that's the point -- the self-indulgent party's over.
Despite my various misgivings, I actually thought Dunst was rather good in the role, near perfectly playing a young woman thrust into the spotlight like few others. Schwartzman decently plays a man-boy forced into a marriage (and sex life) and then rule of a country before he's mature enough to handle either, and thus gets by on royal protocol and tradition (when things get hairy, especially in the bedroom, he heads off on a hunting trip).
Although miscast, Torn is a hoot as the randy King, and supporting performances from Steve Coogan as the royal advisor, Danny Huston as Marie's concerned brother, and Molly Shannon and Shirley Henderson as the resident gossipmongers are generally fine.
The presumed point of all of this, of course, is that women throughout the ages have become bored by being trapped in stereotypical roles and thus want a mindless release. I just wonder if Cleopatra, Martha Washington, and/or Mother Teresa did so in a clothing-based shopping spree set to a bouncy, pop tune. If they had, the call either would have been "Off with their heads" or "Please pass the cake." Visually intoxicating but rather vapid when it comes to story, "Marie Antoinette" rates as a 5.5 out of 10.
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