Whenever I think about going to see a movie, I always ask myself two questions:
The big screen, the smell of the popcorn, reacting with an audience -- there's still really nothing else like it. It's just that I'm not really willing to trade two hours of my life away to whatever shitty idea Adam Sandler cooked up this week just so I can have that experience.
Perhaps that's why I've been so torn these past few days. Because of all the movies currently playing right now, there is one that I think might be good to see at the theatre, if not for one tiny little snag:
I'm starting to think the film is going to suck.
The film is called Marie Antoinette, the latest from acclaimed screenwriter/director Sofia Coppola. Touted as sort of a "revisionist" biopic, the movie is based around Lady Antonia Fraser's book "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" -- which offers Antoinette as an emotional teenaged girl forced into a position she was hardly prepared to handle at a time where the tides of French history were all about to change. What makes this interesting is that it presents an alternative snapshot of someone who in a lot of ways has historically been portrayed as a bit of a villain, almost a personified justification for the rise of democratic idealism in Europe (which helped sow the seeds of revolution against the British Royalty for the American colonists).
Coppola has been careful to point out that the movie isn't intended as a history lesson, and that she's taken a lot of liberties with the flow of actual events in favor of presenting this characters' story. And while many people seem to have problems with that (the film was apparently booed after it's debut at Cannes) -- it's actually one of the reasons I was first interested in seeing it.
From The Madness of King George and The Last Temptation of Christ, all the way back to Milos Forman's Amadeus, alternate takes on history have always fascinated me.
I mean, who are we to say what these people were really like? Plus, fictionalized histories offer storytellers a unique opportunity to examine characters within pre-defined boundaries. I mean, regardless of how many changes Coppola decides to make with the history surrounding the story, there's no escaping the fact that an angry mob stormed the palace at Versailles, took Antoinette prisoner, found her guilty of treason, and eventually led her to the guillotile to be executed. A film focused on Marie the person offers us a the chance to possibly see what actions she and her court might have taken that could have avoided that tragedy.
Think for a minute about all the buzz that surrounded Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code -- what really fueled that excitement (aside from the religious controversy)? Personally, I think it has a lot to do with the suggestion that while the environments and situations these characters are in might be extraordinary, their personal desires and motivations might not be that far from our very own. By personifying historical figures with modern insecurities and sensibilities, we as viewers get the chance to find common ground with them as people instead of the untouchable icons that the history books and religious texts make them out to be.
I'm not saying Sofia Coppola isn't talented. But it does occur growing up as the daughter of one of Hollywood's most successful filmmakers might give her an inside track when it comes to making a movie that finally tells us just how unbelievably difficult it is to be young, rich, and beautiful.
And in the end, maybe that's the real problem. I have a MySpace account -- I don't need to spend nine bucks to hear 14 year-olds whine about their parents. And while I still think that the overall style of the film might be something to see, I just don't know if there's going to be anything there for me personally to relate to.
The funny thing is though -- if I'm right in my suspicions, then the actual audience for this film is a choice and select group. Because when you think about it, Marie Antoinette might not have chosen to leave Austria for France - but when she got there she found a way to make the best of it for herself on her own. She made no apologies and lived large, and even when an armed mob threatened to storm her mansion, she stood tall and told them to bring it on.
Who knows, maybe the climactic scene in the movie features Kirsten Dunst standing defiantly in front of the mob shouting,
1) What's playing right now that I want to see?I don't know -- with the proliferation of DVD's and cable movie channels making it so much easier to see movies whenever you want, going to the theater isn't really all that big of a deal anymore. Unless of course you're like me, and you still love going to the movies.
2) What's playing right now that I actually want to see on a big screen?
The big screen, the smell of the popcorn, reacting with an audience -- there's still really nothing else like it. It's just that I'm not really willing to trade two hours of my life away to whatever shitty idea Adam Sandler cooked up this week just so I can have that experience.
Perhaps that's why I've been so torn these past few days. Because of all the movies currently playing right now, there is one that I think might be good to see at the theatre, if not for one tiny little snag:
The film is called Marie Antoinette, the latest from acclaimed screenwriter/director Sofia Coppola. Touted as sort of a "revisionist" biopic, the movie is based around Lady Antonia Fraser's book "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" -- which offers Antoinette as an emotional teenaged girl forced into a position she was hardly prepared to handle at a time where the tides of French history were all about to change. What makes this interesting is that it presents an alternative snapshot of someone who in a lot of ways has historically been portrayed as a bit of a villain, almost a personified justification for the rise of democratic idealism in Europe (which helped sow the seeds of revolution against the British Royalty for the American colonists).Coppola has been careful to point out that the movie isn't intended as a history lesson, and that she's taken a lot of liberties with the flow of actual events in favor of presenting this characters' story. And while many people seem to have problems with that (the film was apparently booed after it's debut at Cannes) -- it's actually one of the reasons I was first interested in seeing it.
From The Madness of King George and The Last Temptation of Christ, all the way back to Milos Forman's Amadeus, alternate takes on history have always fascinated me.
I mean, who are we to say what these people were really like? Plus, fictionalized histories offer storytellers a unique opportunity to examine characters within pre-defined boundaries. I mean, regardless of how many changes Coppola decides to make with the history surrounding the story, there's no escaping the fact that an angry mob stormed the palace at Versailles, took Antoinette prisoner, found her guilty of treason, and eventually led her to the guillotile to be executed. A film focused on Marie the person offers us a the chance to possibly see what actions she and her court might have taken that could have avoided that tragedy.
Think for a minute about all the buzz that surrounded Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code -- what really fueled that excitement (aside from the religious controversy)? Personally, I think it has a lot to do with the suggestion that while the environments and situations these characters are in might be extraordinary, their personal desires and motivations might not be that far from our very own. By personifying historical figures with modern insecurities and sensibilities, we as viewers get the chance to find common ground with them as people instead of the untouchable icons that the history books and religious texts make them out to be.Or to put it another way: these stories are like one of those internet meme quizzes,Maybe that's why I'm having trouble with Marie Antoinette. Because with all the hype about the new wave soundtrack and the idea that the film portrays "the loneliness of being female and surrounded by a world that knows how to use you but not how to value and understand you." -- I'm starting to question just who exactly this film is intended for.
except the question isn't "What Would Jesus Do?" -- it's "Which Jesus are You?"
When suddenly it dawned upon me:* A boyfriend who doesn't offer enough attention or affectionIn short, two hours of people walking around in fancy shoes and dresses while listening to New Order and the Cure?
* Parents who tell you what to wear and force you to get a job
* A pervert uncle who kinda creeps you out
* Rival girls spreading rumors behind your backThis isn't a movie, it's a livejournal!
I'm not saying Sofia Coppola isn't talented. But it does occur growing up as the daughter of one of Hollywood's most successful filmmakers might give her an inside track when it comes to making a movie that finally tells us just how unbelievably difficult it is to be young, rich, and beautiful.And in the end, maybe that's the real problem. I have a MySpace account -- I don't need to spend nine bucks to hear 14 year-olds whine about their parents. And while I still think that the overall style of the film might be something to see, I just don't know if there's going to be anything there for me personally to relate to.
The funny thing is though -- if I'm right in my suspicions, then the actual audience for this film is a choice and select group. Because when you think about it, Marie Antoinette might not have chosen to leave Austria for France - but when she got there she found a way to make the best of it for herself on her own. She made no apologies and lived large, and even when an armed mob threatened to storm her mansion, she stood tall and told them to bring it on.
Basically, Marie Antoinette is Scarface for the trust fund set.I can totally see a private screening of this somewhere in Beverly Hills where the likes of Paris Hilton, Amanda Hearst, and Emma Bloomberg are all holding hankercheifs to their faces while they repeatedly sob "It's true, it's sooo true!"
Who knows, maybe the climactic scene in the movie features Kirsten Dunst standing defiantly in front of the mob shouting,
"Say Hello to My Little Dog!"
[Listening to: Peter Murphy, "Cuts You Up"]
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