| Overall Grade: |
B- |
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| Story: |
C- |
|
|
| Acting: |
A- |
|
|
| Direction: |
C- |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A+ |
|
|
A visual empire...but that's it
by Yueyeyoona (movies profile)
Dec 10, 2007
35
of
44 people found this review helpful
When you first start this movie, you are mostly in awe of the ridiculously detailed wardrobe and set. Everything is so beautiful and ornate--from the costumes, to the buildings, to the furnishings, to the landscaping, and even the food. I couldn't help but wonder how much money was spent on all that stuff.
The beginning of the movie is a lot of repetition. It's the introduction to Marie's life which she described as tiresome how every bit of her life was being watched--even the birth of her child. So you keep seeing the same scene over and over...and over. Yeah, we get the point.
From here, it seems like the scenes are going nowhere.
The story then moves on from the main problem that she couldn't consumate the marriage with her husband, to her partying ways. In this part, it reminded me of current rich teenagers who spend frivolously, party, drink, and laugh the night away. It was actually wierd how this movie mixed current elements with old fashioned ones. Everyone was dressed and obeyed like they did in the old days, but the music, language and words, and some people were not of that time period.
Was that part of the director's plan? I think so. But I couldn't help second guess myself when I kept noticing other quirks in the movie like "newborn" babies that looked like they were already 4 months old, and incorrectly using the foreign languages...
I was pretty bored by now. This movie is about 2 hours long. By an hour and a half, it seemed like there wouldn't be enough room to portray the bread shortage and Marie's death. Well...there wasn't enough room, but they squeezed it in anyway. They just wanted her to say "Let them eat cake" before her final plunge. I was wondering how they were gonna show her hanging, but they kind of took an easier route and more tastefully ended it. I didn't like the ending at first, but it grew on me.
The theatre was primarily women (and a couple of husbands who looked like they were dragged there) and I did hear a lot of people coming out saying "well that was stupid." Nah, not "stupid" but due to funky time elements, a lot of inaccuracies, and a bunch of boredom...this movie didn't do too much for me. Yes, the visuals were outstanding and the acting not bad either, but I don't think it was enough to save this movie. |
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