Marie Antoinette

I don't want to ruin this movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but trust me when I say wait for the rental. Unless you've got two hours to kill and there are no good sales at Macy's.

Our (Lara Santiago and I) expectations were high after seeing the trailers and hearing the hype. We anticipated something between a "Remains Of The Day" and "A Knight's Tale" - period, yet rock and roll. And it was somewhere in between the two, but not in a successful way.

Although the settings and costuming are mindblowingly delicious, the pacing really makes this movie drag. There are several moments during the movie where you actually find yourself thinking, "couldn't they have shortened this scene"? There's a lot of non-action. Pensive scenes where Kirsten Dunst does little more than emote. Or walk. There are a lot of walking scenes. Granted, I didn't expect carriage races or black powder shoot-outs - it's Marie Antoinette, for crying out loud, but still.

Her life is interesting to say the least. And the movie does a great job of making her a sympathetic character early on. But as the film unspools, some of that sympathy turns to apathy.

Now the spoiler and one of the most disappointing parts of the movie (it's in black, so you'll have to highlight the block of text if you want to read it):

We all know Marie Antoinette buys the farm under the guillotine's blade, right? So it's basically the assumption that's how the movie will end - with this dramatic finish. You wonder how the director, Sophia Coppola, will handle it. Could end the movie in a way that stays with you for a long time. But that's not how the movie ends. Not even close. Instead, you get to see Marie and Louis riding off in a carriage. That's it. That's it! Sheesh. Talk about a downer.

Anyway, I so wanted to like this movie more than I did...but...well...c'est la vie.