Marie Antoinette
2026-02-13
Toronto, ON

I hear all the complaints of this being historically inaccurate, or jarring in its indulgence in pop music (this is a who's who of my taste in rock music), or out of bounds in its taste in sneakers. But I counter... why the hell not? It's exactly what makes this so memorable. And honestly, to transpose the artifacts of modern teenage angst onto a period piece works way better than it should. It's got a very palpable, tongue in cheek irreverence of the monarch, mocking the frivolities of their daily lives, but carefully depicting Marie on the outside of all that. She lives in a world defined by expectations she never really asked for. Obviously, the circumstances are wildly different nowadays, but it's the same position that defines the teenage experience for a lot of people, Coppola's own experiences really bubbling over here to make it work. There's enough high school movies out there, so why not explore that feeling as a beautifully elaborate and absolutely radiant period piece? 5 stars, folks.

Watched on 35mm at the Revue. I pulled up to this completely aware it was a Galentine's Day screening, courtesy of the We Really Like Her! series at the Revue, and I had a hoot!