Cannes 2006 - Marie Antoinette

One of the great things about watching a press screening is that you are able to arrive at a film without having read any reviews. Often you don't even know what the film is about.

With Marie Antoinette, however, it was hard not to have pre-conceptions. It's written and directed by Sofia Coppola, and since her last film was the brilliant Lost In Translation everyone was excited to see what she'd do with an historical epic.

Unfortunately, though the film looks great, for my taste there just wasn't enough story. Some people at the screening seemed to like it, but it felt to me like watching a child's history book on screen, with some rock music to liven things up.

It made me think how brilliant The Madness Of King George (written by Alan Bennett) is - an historical film that manages to feel contemporary whilst also saying things about the past.