Who Wants Cake?

This post will have something to do with music, I promise. I just can’t write about Marie Antoinette and not comment on the movie itself. J and I saw it last night. Once again, as we did when we made the poor decision to see Proof of Life in 2001, we expected that our muffled laughing fits would cause those around us to start throwing things. We couldn’t help it. We just needed to giggle since the movie had the lethargic pace of Lost in Translation. When the end did finally come, I was left wanting to see a car blow up. Or, in this case, a head roll. Nothing like that happens.

The soundtrack is beautiful. Just stunning. Don't expect A Knight's Tale. This movie is actually filled with an interesting combination of period music alongside excellent placements of 80s hits such as Plainsong by The Cure and Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Adam Ant and The Strokes are in there, too. No Falco. I guess that would have been too “obvious”.

Things to note:
J, with her signature quick eye, noticed the Converse All Star Chuck Taylors that show up for a split second.
The kid that was cast to play the 2-year old Dauphin looked like he wanted to break your face. Seriously, he was not happy in any of his scenes.
Marianne Faithfull cast as Kaiserin Maria Theresia.
Rip Torn cast as Louis XV. I could not stop thinking of his hilarious DUI arrest video.
The beautiful and talented Australian actress Rose Byrne cast as the Duchess de Polignac.
Since J and I are both scholars of the Rococo period and have written historical papers on Robespierre, our post-movie commentary on historical facts of the period made us stop and realize what geeks we are.
There was an emphasis on confection as the movie peaks. In my life, I have never hungered for an éclair like I did while watching this movie.
There is one clever, albeit chilling use of symbolic foreshadowing as Marie Antoinette silences the mob about to break into Versailles by bowing her head over her balcony railing.

My final thoughts: I was unmoved. I totally appreciate what Sophia Coppola was trying to achieve in this movie and knew this was not meant to be a documentary-style film. Regardless, I don’t think J and I will ever feel the need to see this movie again. -K