This story could have been exciting and full of visual pleasure, but I thought it failed utterly. I could not muster up any real interest in the characters, and the writer made a major misstep in trying to make Jeanne (Hilary Swank) a quasi-revolutionary heroine instead of a scheming con artist. (This decision didn't even make sense within the world of the film: if Jeanne is an anti-monarchist, why is she working so hard to get back her aristocratic name and fancy estate?) The screenplay was inefficient and muddled, and relied heavily on dull and unnecessary voiceover narration. (I did, however, appreciate some of the writer's attempts to create period dialogue.)
Unlike most IMDB reviewers, I didn't care for the cinematography (I saw this on DVD; maybe that explains it?); I thought the colors were washed out and almost every shot infused with fog. I also found the composition of the images unexciting. You would think a nighttime scene in a garden of Versailles, with characters running around in 18th-century costumes, would be fabulous, but it was passionless; the whole film has a workaday feel.
Some of the actors do well: I liked Joely Richardson as Marie-Antoinette and the two jewelers were funny and engaging. Hilary Swank was partly effective, but I was distracted by her uneven accent. Christopher Walken had a similar problem: he used some Russian consonants, but his distinctive inflection remained unchanged, making for an odd-sounding character. At the risk of offending most IMDBers, I must say that I think Adrien Brody is totally creepy, and I particularly never want to see his tongue again.
I'm not sure why so many IMDB reviewers thought the characters should have French accents--if the characters are supposedly speaking their own language, it makes more sense for them NOT to have accents. Whether they sound English or American is immaterial to me, but it would be nice to have consistency, which this film lacks.
Although I admired most of Milena Canonero's beautiful costumes for this film, I think they were wasted by a director whose visual sense doesn't match my ideal. For a more stylish (albeit puzzling and disturbing) movie set in the 18th century, try "The Draughtsman's Contract".
Unlike most IMDB reviewers, I didn't care for the cinematography (I saw this on DVD; maybe that explains it?); I thought the colors were washed out and almost every shot infused with fog. I also found the composition of the images unexciting. You would think a nighttime scene in a garden of Versailles, with characters running around in 18th-century costumes, would be fabulous, but it was passionless; the whole film has a workaday feel.
Some of the actors do well: I liked Joely Richardson as Marie-Antoinette and the two jewelers were funny and engaging. Hilary Swank was partly effective, but I was distracted by her uneven accent. Christopher Walken had a similar problem: he used some Russian consonants, but his distinctive inflection remained unchanged, making for an odd-sounding character. At the risk of offending most IMDBers, I must say that I think Adrien Brody is totally creepy, and I particularly never want to see his tongue again.
I'm not sure why so many IMDB reviewers thought the characters should have French accents--if the characters are supposedly speaking their own language, it makes more sense for them NOT to have accents. Whether they sound English or American is immaterial to me, but it would be nice to have consistency, which this film lacks.
Although I admired most of Milena Canonero's beautiful costumes for this film, I think they were wasted by a director whose visual sense doesn't match my ideal. For a more stylish (albeit puzzling and disturbing) movie set in the 18th century, try "The Draughtsman's Contract".