Let them eat cake.

 ‘Catch 22’, a situation where the desirable outcome is impossible, no matter what decisions you make. Queen of debt, Madame deficit, the great spender, are all titles associated with the French Queen Marie Antoinette. In the 2006 film ‘Marie Antoinette’ by Sofia Coppola, we do not follow a corrupt queen who drains France’s economy- we follow a scared young girl who is a glorified object- put on display for all to see. We follow her in her pain, her ridicule and her fall from grace. Trapped in a lavish prison of the palace of Versailles, surrounded by people who are waiting idly for her downfall.  Coppola uses various film aspects, such as costume, lighting, setting and sound to create a personalised recount of the events within the famous queen’s life, a recount which fits neatly into Coppola’s  personal filming style. A golden cage is a cage nonetheless. 

Almost everyone has felt an inescapable sense of nothingness at some stage, and one of the most common ways to cope is to try and fill the void with external comforts. Drugs, alcohol, food, spending are all common coping mechanisms which people use to comfort themselves. Marie Antoinette is no exception. The  ‘I Want Candy’ scene starts off with a wide shot of Marie crying in a dark corner, consumed by the grey shadows of the lightless room. This lack of light gives the viewer a sense of hopelessness and claustrophobia, as the shadows appear to consume her. The scene then cuts to a dolly shot of ornately decorated shoes, sitting on an equally beautifully decorated shelf as Bow Wow Wow’s ‘I Want Candy’ starts playing as a non-diegetic sound. A montage of material goods ensue, along with clips of Marie gambling and shopping with her ladies in waiting. Colour and setting are used  to juxtapose Marie’s inner feelings to her coping mechanisms. The scene starts off as dark and unsaturated, later cutting to a pastel coloured montage of crowded sets, champagne pouring and plates upon plates of decadent pastries. Montage clips of a jewelled choker on a pug and a dramatic tilt shot of Marie in an intricate, large hair piece, coupled with her dialogue “its not too much, is it?” use comedy to portray the ridiculously lavish spending of the French aristocrats in that era. 

In the context of when the film was released, in 2006, it's impossible to not notice the similarities in Coppala’s portrayal of Antoinette and the young female celebrities who were incredibly popular at the time. Much like icons such as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, the public scrutinises Marie’s every move, holding her up to impossible standards. While she is expected to behave like the French Royal court, spending and enjoying the fineries available to her, she is also condemned by the public for partaking in overspending and eventually blamed for draining France’s economy. Furthermore, the depictions of Marie within the film, along with the initial criticisms of the film, raise another question;Why is it so wrong to like things that are marketed towards young women? Our interests have been at the bottom of the social hierarchy for decades (eg. Barbie, an extremely popular children’s toy which has been used as an insult against young women). Since when has the colour pink, or jewellery been associated with incompetant female behaviours? ‘Marie Antoinette’ is a film which is very obviously marketed towards a demographic of young women, as made clear by its sympathetic portrayal of a young woman navigating a new world, along with the pastel colour palette and romantic comedy elements. In this sense, even well after the film’s release, ‘Marie Antoinette’ still criticises our society's tendency to condemn young women regardless of their decisions.

“Where such men love they have no desire and where they desire they cannot love." -Sigmund Freud. The ‘Madonna and the Whore’ complex was coined by Sigmund Freud in the early 1900’s, and suggests that women who men desire can not be respected, and those who are respected can not be desired. Even the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is not immune to this complex. For the first six years of her marriage, she was unable to produce an heir, through no fault of her own. In the scene where Marie reads a letter from her mother, it is made painfully clear that she is blamed for an unfruitful marriage . The lighting of the scene is dark, with a small stream of natural light coming in through an adjacent window, which symbolises the overall despair and hopelessness of Marie’s situation. The intricate floral wallpaper vaguely resembles the pattern on Marie’s gown, visually crowding her and creating a claustrophobic and overwhelming feeling within the frame. The camera tilts as Marie slowly slides down the wall and onto the floor, creating a high angle which shows her as vulnerable. The dialogue of Marie’s mother reading the letter goes as follows;  “My dearest Marie, I am pleased to tell you how well your brothers and sisters are doing in their marriages” “all this news should fill me with contentment but is diminished by your dangerous situation” followed with the final suggestion “Everything depends on the wife, if she is willing and sweet”. The letter from her mother represents exactly what the noble aristocrats around Marie are thinking: it is Marie’s fault she has not produced an heir. Antoinette, through no fault of her own, is labelled as a ‘prude’ and a ‘failure’ for not yet having a child, when it is actually her husband who isn’t consummating the marriage. He see’s Marie as an innocent and virginal woman whom he respects, rather than somebody whom he desires. Despite his ‘love’ for his ‘madonna wife’, King Louis XVI is actually doing more harm than good. Without an heir, Marie’s position at Versailles is painfully temporary, for she is just an exotic object who was brought in and just as easily taken out of the palace. Despite this film taking place in the 18th century, society’s treatment of women hasn’t evolved an awful lot. Women in highly public roles (such as film stars, musicians ect) are easily denied and swapped out for others, often by their much older male managers. Women in public roles have always been subject to objectification, invasive public eyes and unstable positions. Society’s harsh criticism of public female figures hasn’t changed since the 18th century and is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.

Escapism;the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy. In Marie’s unpleasant reality, she craves relief from the glaring eyes of the noble people of Versalies, from the hatred of the public. After having her first child, Marie Therese, Antoinette was given the ‘Petit Trianon’- a lovely country themed sanctuary away from the rest of the palace. Marie’s escapism fits neatly into Sofia Coppola's unique film style, having the scene feature her signature motifs, such as natural light and low contrast within the scene. The ‘petit trianon’ scene mainly features close ups of Marie and her daughter, with no non-diegetic sound and very low contrast within the scene. The primary sounds are farm animals, a stream of water slowly trickling against the stone barriers and a gentle breeze sweeping through the long, dry plant life. The set contains very little additional props within the scene, juxtaposing the maximalism mise en scene of the earlier ‘I want candy’ scene, as mentioned previously. The lens flares and foggy lighting give the scene a ‘dream scape’ feel, which compliments the escapism aspect of Marie’s love for her little sanctuary.  Everything about the Petit Trianon contrasts the ‘grotesquely lavish’ palace of Versailles, from the more natural colour scheme to the entire lack of non-diegetic sound, juxtaposed against the 1980’s punk anthems (such as Hong Kong Garden, by Sioxsie and the Banshees) played in other scenes. Marie’s costume also contributes to the complete juxtaposition between the ‘Petit Trianon’ and the Palace of Versailles. The scenes where she is in the palace, Marie is adorned with bright pastel fabrics, lavish gold jewellery and outrageously elaborate silhouettes which were fashionable in the 18th century. Compared with the costumes of her scene in the Petit Trianon, where she wears loose, white chemise-style gowns, it is obvious that award winning costume designer-Milena Canonero- wanted to create an undeniable contrast between the visual depiction of the role of Queen which Marie plays and Marie’s actual desires. The scene also pays homage to Coppala’s earlier films, such as ‘The virgin suicides’ where similar style choices and lighting were used, along with the escapist tone. Much like her drug use and excessive partying, Marie uses the Petit Trianon as a form of escapism, a feeling we can all relate to. This directly links to the overall sympathetic tone of the film, where the escapism fantasy truly paints Antionette as how Coppala wished to present her, as a scared young woman in an unfavourably difficult situation. A situation we all would rather not find ourselves in. Despite the centuries of disgrace and blame which has been cast upon her legacy, Sofia Coppola still decides to represent her in a sympathetic view, as a young girl who is out of her depth. This film helped the general audience to critique and second guess their pre-existing negative views of The French Queen, and helped us to apply the same thought process before we harshly judge others. In the age of social media, judgement and criticism of our peers is inescapable. Despite ‘Marie Antoinettes’ debut in 2006 being an initial flop, the more broadcasted our society becomes, the more relevant its messages become. ‘Marie Antoinette’ will forever be known as a cult classic film for young women all across the world.

‘Marie Antoinette’, directed by Sofia Coppola in 2006, is a modern and sympathetic retelling of the inner life of the infamous Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. Through the use of film aspects such as costume, dialogue, lighting and mise en scene- Coppola creates an intimate film about the struggles and fall from grace of a young queen in an unfavourably cruel world. Rather than being a historically accurate depiction of the politics prior to the French revolution, the narrative follows the inner life of Marie during her life in Versailles, presenting a relatable character rather than a corrupt historical figure.