A critical review of Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette

A critical review of 2006 Marie Antoinette movie by Sophia Coppola.

The missing hyphen is a hint

Starting from the movie title, the name of Marie-Antoinette is given without the hyphen, a first rule has been broken even before the movie started. The graphical presentation of the movie, the official poster as the starting titles reminds me of the well known Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks LP cover or the The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle allure; generally speaking it has a lot of the punk xeroxed-flyers aestethic. Also pink really is punk.

Versailles decadence is just Sex & and out of the City

The decadence of the Versailles court is well rendered thanks also to the Sex & the city approach, a group of apparently doing nothing sexy babes chatting of sexual rumors and compulsively buying shoes. It's not really a surprise shoes in the movie are from Manolo Blahnik, the same shoe maker S.J. Parker character's in Sex & the City spend all her savings for. It looks very New York, the private parties Marie Antoinette hold for her girlie friends.

The sneakers are the sign

A pair of blue All Stars sneakers appear during a scene where Marie Antoinette gets dressed before her anniversary party. Sofia Coppola has stated in interviews that the shoes were purposely put in the shot to portray Marie-Antoinette as a typical teenage girl, despite the time she lived in. To me it also define the passage from the decadent and conservative first part of the story (long and slow moments of ceremonies and etiquette), to the decadent and rebellious second part of the movie (something has to happen).

The panda make-up, we all know this means just one thing: Blade Runner

Remember the young Daryl Hannah as Pris in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner? Who doesn't. Now the main problem of that character is since then every time you see some girl with a panda make-up (the thick black line covering both eyes) you can't stop thinking of her. In this case it's a transparent black mask the one Marie Antoinette is wearing, the effect is nonetheless the same.

The soundtrack is the leitmotiv

As the common path of this punk conspiracy theory, we cannot forget an, honorable, mention to the music soundtrack of Sophia Coppola's movie, the British end of a punk era scene is here well represented by: Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie Sioux, Plainsong and All Cats are Grey by The Cure, Ceremony by New Order. Some post-rockish new European electro is sapiently added to the mix: Avril 14th and Jynweythek Ylow by Aphex Twin (aka Richard D. James), Il Secondo Giorno Instrumental by Air.