Deepfocuslens
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Sofia Coppola
🕑 Added 2023-10-31 00:00:01 +0000 UTCI'll likely be checking out PRISCILLA soon. I've struggled with Sofia's work at times. VIRGIN SUICIDES is by far my favorite. But I downright hated films like THE BEGUILED remake. I revisited MARIE ANTOINETTE since it seems as though it could act as a companion piece to PRISCILLA. I saw it when it came out initially, and like a lot of people at the time, I didn't care for it. It has gained popularity over the years with Millennial/Gen Z cinefiles, and while I'm not in love with it still, I found myself really enjoying it this time around. Is it thin? Oh yeah. indulgent? Yes. Could it be better? Most certainly. But for what it is, I think it's really cool, and decadent by design, which is key.
I like the idea of Sofia making a movie that is essentially about her, or at least, she can identify with the idea of being brought up into something massive and important that she didn't ask for, which is both a gift and an unlikely burden. This is not a historically accurate film, nor do I give a shit about any of that. Clearly neither does Sofia. She goes for airy and sensory, not dense. The film is almost achingly sumptuous, and the facades create the emptiness. It captures the essence of Marie Antoinette, but not necessarily the real Marie Antoinette. She's more a loose symbol for wealth and privilege here. The story of a young girl being forced into royalty, who revels in her riches to dilute the melancholia/boredom in her life, works for me. She's essentially portrayed here as a Paris Hilton, a Kim Kardashian, etc.. People so out of touch that some may struggle to connect. but it's interesting to bathe in the perfume of it all, through the eyes of someone who understands that mood, and how to convey it tastefully.
The modern approach to history gives it this feeling of youthful exuberance thats very 70s inspired, wistful and cinematic. You can see every socialite in pop culture transposed over Marie Antoinette here. And eventually the distinction of the era almost disappears. For me, this is okay, because the film is precisely about those who choose to turn a blind eye to the realities of the world, because they can afford to, at least for a time. Unlike THE BEGUILED, a film that embodies so many complex central themes, that Sofia chooses to water down or downright ignore, for fear of tackling a heavy subject she doesn't comprehend. You cannot tackle a movie where so much of its story hinges on the thematic tension of those plot threads, strip it down to near nothing, and expect the story to still hold up. It was flimsy and flakey at best compared to the original film. A story full of juicy, sexy, intense melodrama, and you somehow manage to zap all the sex appeal and tension out of it. Completely counterintuitive to the material she's adapting, and all it does is highlight her ignorance/weaknesses as a writer, rather than recognizing them.
MARIE ANTOINETTE however, is where she recognizes the ignorance and wisely, makes that the focus. I think it's a wonderful showcase for Sofia as an artist. Is this socialite life that she depicts for us a content one? No. The young girl misses out on being a young girl, and the effect is rather wistful. It's a cage she's trapped in, but at least it's chic. Kirsten Dunst to me embodies the rosey-cheeked, powdery-pale face of a European young woman in a 18th century painting, slight curl of a devilish smile at the corner of her mouth and all. She's charming in the role. This one is pretentious in ways but, feels a lot more genuine to me than say...SPENCER, the aesthetically driven Princess Diana film from a couple of years ago. But I dunno. What do ya'll think? I struggle a lot with the pacing of the beginning, as well as the third act, where a lot of the eventual outside world bleeds into Antoinette's life. Felt it could've been handled better overall, as a powerful contrast to an opulent life, now over.
Comments
Eliodoro Plath
"Oppression" or "repression"... Whichever it is... I choose to blame others! Not to get too heady, but I recently read the History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault. All about how since the 16th century (Renaissance) there's been a persistent push to pry sexuality from the darkness. Cool read. I really liked how he talked about the King's claim over the subject's body (life or death consequences on His land if you do not follow His rules: land as the precursor to currency) versus modern science's thorough perusal of the emancipated-by-democracy-individual through psychology in an attempt to harness the body's power. I love psychology! In art, I am for anything explicit as long as it is not the piece's secret. I believe the secret should be the heart and the heart should be hidden where only the most intrepid follow. In other words, give me pornographic sex as long as your piece is about a little man who laughs at it and misses his cat who ran away two weeks ago. But if he longs for intimate love, then pornographic sex should in no way be used to express his desire. Where deepest feeling begins, the explicit world ends.
Deepfocuslens
It all depends on the person and what they respond to. Art is open to interpretation. But yeah, it wasn't until recently that I realized sexual repression is a thing in her films.
Eliodoro Plath
Fair enough. I see what you're saying as far the movie being less juicy and squalid than the original. It's a hothouse orchid for me, ravishing in it sequestered state. One thing you mentioned in your Priscilla review was the absence of sexuality in Sofia's work. My immediate reaction was a knee jerk "wrong!", but then I got to thinking about it and realized you were onto something. I remember watching The Virgin Suicides as a teenage boy and feeling quite riveted, if you know what I mean... But it's true that Sofia's work repeatedly deals with sexual oppression. She doesn't talk about this oppression, she expresses it. If sex were an abyss, she would constantly be outlining it. She never jumps in the pool and swims... Instead, she keeps it holy, or that's how I choose to see it. But I understand and respect your criticism. Sofia is Catholic, yes? Makes sense... So I guess, even though I am without religion, I'm on the other side of the aisle with her on this one. For me, Irreversible's explicit rape scene deprives its subject matter of feeling. It uses a blunt tool where a scalpel is called for. When something is meaningful to me, I speak of it in hushed tones.
Deepfocuslens
I think it's just a really skeletal film that completely ignores the most juicy, most interesting parts of the story, and thus it feels like trying to swim in an empty swimming pool. The original material, and the original film, is just as long in runtime, and it's so compelling. Full of twisted shit, which is the entire point. The subversion of primal urge. And Sofia just completely ignored it all for her version, because she was too afraid of the complexities of it. She outright admitted this. I find that really lazy. It's a piece that is dripping with sexual intensity, and the new one has no dimension to its southern gentile oppression., imo.
Eliodoro Plath
I'd love to know why you hate The Beguiled so much. I thought it was Sofia's most worldly film, in so much as her movies often run thick with murky inwardness. In The Beguiled, this dreamlike aura got transposed to a moss draped South infested by war, decadence and humidity. It creates a atmosphere redolent with lust and sweat, as though the characters' were leaking out their insides, rather than the usual Sofia stymy. Also, there were three principle characters, rather than the romantic two she usually goes with. Lastly, there was a gun! So Sofia did away with the interior violence she's most comfortable with, and ventured outside. I gotta admit, I dug it. Why did you hate it so much?
Atticus Xey
Plan to go see it tomorrow or Friday. I really liked the trailer.
Deepfocuslens
Oh yeah, I agree. If you like the soundtrack to Virgin Suicides, then highly recommend Marie Antoinette. It's got a badass soundtrack. One of her best imo.
Shane Palamara
I’ve had Marie Antoinette on my watchlist for some time but I like Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation because Sofia’s hipster style of feature-length music videos works well with capturing loneliness. There’s definitely an empty feeling in her stylish aesthetic that can be associated with loneliness. That’s what is so palpable about her work for me. Also, I think her music choices are downright amazing. The Virgin Suicides soundtrack is so damn good (I think).
Wolfman Brandon
The only Sofia film I've seen is Lost in Translation which was when I was still developing in college and I didn't care for it at the time. I hadn't learned to appreciate the slow low key type of dramas yet. I was talking about Spike Jonze's Her in a recent post which has become one of my new favorite films and a few people on here were calling it a companion piece to LIT because of Jonze's failed marriage to Sofia which supposedly inspired both films. I wouldn't know as I'm not very familiar with LIT but it definitely showed in Her which had emotions more raw than an uncooked steak and really feels more relevant since its release with the withering state of the dating world today. AI boyfriends and girlfriends are a real thing now.
