vivien | (no subject)

Here be pirates - our Halloween-ready yard. Muahahaha!

I saw .

I really liked it. It wasn't what I thought it would be; I'd heard it was "updated" with "modern touches" like Converse high tops. That made me cringe, as I am not a fan of updating history that way for movies. I am proud to report that the high tops appear in one "shopping" montage for a few seconds, and everything else was very much of that time.

The costuming was exquisite, the historical context was adhered to for the most part, and I really, really was pleasantly surprised by the performances, especially Rip Torn as Louis XV (eta - thanks for the historical correction, AJ. Toooo many Louis), Jason Schwartzman as a very endearing if dim Louis Auguste (poor kid - he only wanted to make keys, not be king), and Kirsten Dunst as the much defamed queen. I've always had an interest in that time period, and I always felt sorry for Marie Antoinette. So this movie pleased me. The actress who portrayed Madame duBarry, the King's infamous mistress, was also brilliant.

I loved the soundtrack, which wasn't what you'd call modern, seeing as it's from the early '80's for the most part. I wondered why Sofia Coppola had chosen the New Romantic sound until I realized the comparison she was making between that scene and Marie's. New Romantics lived to dress up and party; most of them lived in squalor due to the miserable economic conditions of England at that time. They focused on escaping into the club scene of the time, with theme dressing (pirates, Indians, you name it) and a credo of "vanity knows no pain".

Add to that the fact that 1981 was the year one Diana Spencer married the Prince of Wales, and I think there are even more compare and contrast opportunities in using music of that time.

Anyway, I enjoyed it, and I recommend it. It's not brilliant drama, but it's lots of fun.

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I really want to see it, despite having been disappointed by Sophia Coppola's scripts in the past. She's a fantastic director but her screenplays lack the complexity I look for in stories. Her scripts always come off as half or a quarter-baked to me.

Before I knew much about Louis XVI, I thought Jason S was a weird choice. Then I read Antonia Fraser's biography and felt better. After seeing the film, I thought he was well cast and charming in a total dork way. I really enjoyed seeing actors of the proper ages (well, OK, they're a bit older, but KD can look and act like a teenager w/o us snickering at any Dylan McKay ridiculousness) play the roles, b/c it helps you really feel how these enormous historical decisions and such were being made by people who couldn't have really known what to do.
(N.B. Rip Torn played grandfather Louis XV, not the fabled Sun King Louis XIV. Louis XVI got there b/c both his dad and his elder brother died, so he wasn't actually born to rule, poor thing.)
I'm hoping the DVD has an entire mini-docu devoted to the costumes. I want fabric porn, design-sketch porn, hand-stitching porn, and, of course, Manolo porn.

(with correct icon)

Ooooh, okay. Oh, all those Louis get mixed up in my head. :-P

Oh yeah, the costumes just made me droooool.

The yard looks fantastic!! I love the pirate theme - i think your neighbors are going to be in awe of you :D

I really want to see Marie Antoinette - ever since I read the Vanity Fair article about it, I was intrigued. I'm glad to hear a positive review.