I treated myself and my mother to the final showing of this, as it was the last day of it playing here in Savannah...
While not as good as Lost In Translation, I thought Sofia Coppola's latest film did an admirable job of conveying the aloof nature Marie had as a naive girl placed in over her head into a position of such immense power although she was not exactly a student of government after she was installed in the role either.
Kirsten Dunst was great in the title role, the costume design and Versailles were amazing, and no, the New Wave music from bands like Gang of Four, New Order, The Cure, Bow Wow Wow, and other songs by The Strokes, Air, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and others do not take you out of the movie but add an air to the film to give it some sense of relatability to the modern world.
At the age of 15 Marie is given away in an arranged marriage. While those around her ache for a new dauphin to carry on their royal heritage, Marie's new husband is more taken with hunting, his stable boys, and keymaking. She is hesitant at first but by the age of 20 she was accustomed to her lavish lifestyle of parties and the extravagance her station provided her as all the while the people of France were dying of starvation. The film gives a birds-eye view of the vapid nature of a head-in-the-clouds existence and what said existence can portend.
Marie Antoinette does not discuss the political aspects of the Palace of Versailles or its country's affairs and while some may decry that fact I simply went in with the knowledge that I wasn't watching a biopic, that Marie Antoinette is not a history lesson nor does it aspire to be. Instead, it's a jaundiced look through the eyes of a girl and those around her who couldn't see the forest for the trees and that reason, coupled with their arrogrant opulence, created the end of a lavish, overblown empire too in love with itself to govern properly.
And I loved the soundtrack, FWIW. I just might purchase it. Maybe.
For Your Consideration is also playing here now. I love Christopher Guest films and I hope this one's great.
I'll be a year older tomorrow. 25 to be exact. 30 is ever approaching. Wow. As I'm wont to do each and every birthday, I'll be partaking of a film. The movie I'll be seeing is Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. It's tanking at the box office because America is full of fucking idiots who'd rather watch offal like Deck The Halls and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause then actually stimulate some activity in that poor excuse for grey matter they call a brain. As a friend of mine stated, it'll go on to an amazing life on DVD when it will be rediscovered and heralded as a cult classic like Donnie Darko was and then people will go, "Damn! How come I never heard of it?" Well, slack-jawed yokel if you'd venture outside of your insular cocoon once and a while and actually see what else is playing at the theater instead of just following the herd mentality and blindly watching crap, you'd have known.
I received another check from the video store I formerly worked at. I'd given them BOD as far as $$$ went, as silly me assumed they'd take a few weeks to get things sent out. They first sent a check for only half of the 53 hours I worked the last week I worked there. A call to payroll later, a check was cut, and voila, all is well.
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To those in the know, woxy.com has been cranking out excellent music, breaking bands, and just being immense amounts of cool for eons now. Clue yourself in if you've not had the pleasure as of yet. Click the logo to travel to a land of music and honey.
Wednesday I received Sophie Scholl: The Final Days from Netflix. Nominated for a Best Foreign Language Academy Award at the most recent Academy Awards, it's based on a true story about a college girl who dared to speak out against the Nazis in 1940s Germany. It looks really good, very captivating. I added the FOX series Profit to the top of the 'ol Netflix queue. The 1996 FOX series was cancelled after four episodes aired (eight were made). Adrian Pasdar (currently on NBC's smash hit Heroes and married to Dixie Chick Natalie Maines) starred in the lead role and volumes have been written about just how stellar this show is.
As I've been a slack bastard as far as this blog goes lately (TiVo's chock full, as usual, as I type this), I feel like an ambitious undertaking. For this month, the month of December, I pledge to post a movie review a week A pretty crazy notion, huh? It'll be a task, no doubt, but I think I can manage it. Expect a review of Michaelango Antonioni's 1975 film The Passenger later this week.
For now time for dishwasher unloading and loading and then sleep.
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