Radio Diatribe

Is Marie Antoinette the best movie of 2006? Not really. But, is it the most culturally significant? Definitely so. I’ll explain why.

Marie Antoinette is a wholly new kind of film: an autobiographical picture masquerading as a period drama. The aspects of the queen’s life that make it on the screen are the ones Sofia Coppola experienced herself (growing up in a celebrity family, having to carry the family’s aspirations on her shoulders, awkwardness caused by father’s extra-marital affairs, difficult marriage, her own extra-marital affairs, etc.) and the ones that are so significant she cannot possibly ignore without breaking the pretense of a historical picture (e.g. the storming of the Versailles).

In other words, the movie is about what Coppola felt about Marie Antoinette, not what the queen of France actually was. It is so true to the vision of the director to the point where historical accuracy, which the reigning period picture dogma dictates must come first in making of such movies, is respected only when it is not in conflict with the director’s vision.

Moreover, it is refreshing in that the film presents a revisionist and reactionary interpretation of history, but there is absolutely no political motivation or context to it. Breaking away from the notion that a serious movie is supposed to inform, inspire, or convince the audience, it is a total cinematic transgression.

While Marie Antoinette is not Coppola’s best work (Lost in Translation was a much better movie), it is her most daring and has the set the bar much, much higher for other daring directors.