This movie is more interesting to watch if you have a decent knowledge of the history that is being changed by it. I don't think I have ever seen such a sympathetic portrait of the French queen. She is truly presented as without flaw, a wonderful, warm woman. This makes her end truly difficult to bear, especially given the highly emotional final scenes of the movie. When they take her son from her, it is hard to hold back the tears.
The truth, of course, was otherwise. This is, therefore, a whitewashing of the historical Marie Antoinette, and it is worth asking why.
In part, it seems to be a conservative's rewrite of history. The revolutionaries are portrayed as uniformly bad, so this is a condemnation of revolution and a positive presentation of absolute monarchy. MGM had done the same sort of thing just a few years before with the much better A Tale of Two Cities, which also centers on the French Revolution.
I suspect MA is also whitewashed so that Norma Shearer would have a sympathetic character to portray. That backfires, though, at least from hindsight. A good actress could do more with a complex character who has merits but also flaws. Here, MA is less difficult to portray, and comes off as less interesting than, say, Shearer's portrayals in "The Women" or some of her other better-remembered movies. She may not have been the greatest of actresses, but she would have been more interesting, and more memorable, if the character had not been written in such a one-dimensional fashion.
There are lots of lavish ballroom scenes, lots of magnificent costumes, by Adrian. If you like that, you will love this movie. It's just a shame that the characters so beautifully costumed don't come off as more interesting, especially given the exceptional length of this movie.
The truth, of course, was otherwise. This is, therefore, a whitewashing of the historical Marie Antoinette, and it is worth asking why.
In part, it seems to be a conservative's rewrite of history. The revolutionaries are portrayed as uniformly bad, so this is a condemnation of revolution and a positive presentation of absolute monarchy. MGM had done the same sort of thing just a few years before with the much better A Tale of Two Cities, which also centers on the French Revolution.
I suspect MA is also whitewashed so that Norma Shearer would have a sympathetic character to portray. That backfires, though, at least from hindsight. A good actress could do more with a complex character who has merits but also flaws. Here, MA is less difficult to portray, and comes off as less interesting than, say, Shearer's portrayals in "The Women" or some of her other better-remembered movies. She may not have been the greatest of actresses, but she would have been more interesting, and more memorable, if the character had not been written in such a one-dimensional fashion.
There are lots of lavish ballroom scenes, lots of magnificent costumes, by Adrian. If you like that, you will love this movie. It's just a shame that the characters so beautifully costumed don't come off as more interesting, especially given the exceptional length of this movie.