Monday

Marie Antoinette is an irksome film. I had not wanted to like it, which was why I waited so long to watch it. But seeing as it was on at the Prince Charles Cinema, which I haven't been to in a long time, that nothing much else was on, and that it had been recommended to me by a friend, I saw it tonight. It is irksome because there are some very good parts to it. The film begins and ends well, but the 'punk' parts were disconcerting. Not that I disagree with them in principle, but that she didn't commit to them consistently. The dialogue too was muddled - half-way between contemporary and 18th century. I think she should've stuck to one aspect and followed it through thoroughly. Personally I thought her more 'realistic' portrayal of the period was excellent - the silence, the wide open spaces, the long pauses, the artificiality of conduct. Jason Schwartzman was excellent, Kirsten Dunst quite bland. Altogether, not a good film, but an intriguing one.