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I love a good costume drama, but anything that includes Marie-Antoinette is apparently bound to be a repetition of the same old clichés over and over.

We get it, she was completely disconnected from reality, careless and pampered and bored and tended to for every bit a normal human being does itself. Age-old cliché that Marie-Antoinette was nothing more than a self-absorbed bimbo? Check.

We get it also, the French Revolution was an immense shock to the royalty and aristocracy; not only did they not see it coming, they didn't think it was possible at all to see the end of their reign. Again, the tried-and-true representation of 18th century French aristocrats as clueless morons? Check.

So, after reinstating the same backdrop again (and again), this version puts forth a bigger focus on rumours of a lesbian love affair the queen was accused of having back then, because that would make the movie so unique.. or not. The story was already a snorefest on paper so let's toss in some sexual material to spice it up in spite of one's better judgement? Check.

The list goes on.

The photo direction is beautiful, the costumes and decors are gorgeous, the actors are all excellent, all this movie is missing is an actual story worthy of your attention. A real shame.

This is a modern historical drama. Characters are not well-developed, and their motivations are not clear. Why is Sidonie so devoted to the Queen? Why does she suddenly want to have sex with the gondolier? Instead, there is LOTS of atmosphere, which makes for one slow film.

You won't learn much about what actually happened in the week that followed the fall of the Bastille, since the story, to the extent that there is a story, is told through the eyes of one of the Queen's domestics. (It does remind you that, in a day not only before computers and the internet, but even television and radio, you could live 30 miles away from momentous events and have no idea what was going on.) Nor will you learn much about Marie-Antoinette or Louis XVI. The latter is a minor character here. MA comes off as very capricious, which she evidently was. But why? Again, there is no character development.

And then, finally, the movie stops, and you go "Oh, is it over?" As I said, LOTS of atmosphere. If that floats your boat, you might like this movie.

It did nothing for me, and I'm very interested in French history.

It's July, 1789, and French citizenry is starting to revolt. Queen Marie Antoninette (Diane Kruger) is hold up at Château de Versailles with her court and her book reader (Léa Seydoux). When the news of the storming of the Bastille reaches them, panic sets in and the King's entourage start slipping away.

It's fascinating to see the various reaction as rumors start to spread. Léa Seydoux is great as the doe-eyed true believer. It is disconcerting to know her true naivety even though she has no idea. It's the source of the tension, but it's also infuriating. Diane Kruger is fine, but I thought that it wasn't quite big enough. However, the climax was just right.

For the next few years, it must be assumed that any film featuring a popular uprising will attract lazy comparisons to the Arab Spring. The wild waters of revolution run swift in Benoit Jacquot's "Farewell, My Queen", set in the days of July, 1789. Over a wet week in France, starving Parisians storm the symbol of state tyranny, the Bastille, seizing guns and ammunition. Protesters issue a list of demands, calling for the beheadings of nearly 300 influential figures. The de facto signs of regime change are everywhere. Dead rats float in the Grand Canal in Versaille; mosquitoes terrorize the members of the Royal household. Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger), the Queen of France, however, has escapism on her mind – she sits in bed, skim-reading the latest fashion pages.

In this task, she is aided by a number of ladies-in-waiting and her reader, Sidonie Laborde (Lea Seydoux). The young woman is called to run to the palace library and return with books and plays she reads aloud to the queen. We learn she is a member of the queen's inner circle and somewhat infatuated with her employer. She performs her duties with a mixture of fear, envy and respect. When the stench of revolution is impossible to ignore, she is told she will be guided to safety. Understandably, she feels more than a little betrayed when the queen orders her to impersonate a fleeing aristocrat, Gabrielle de Polignac, who will accompany her, dressed as a servant. If she is captured, Laborde risks death, while Polignac will abscond to safety.

This could all be familiar territory – Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" (2006) took a distinctly sweet-toothed approach to the French Revolution, imprisoning Kirsten Dunst behind tiers of artisan cakes. In Coppola's film, the French royals behaved like party-goers on an episode of MTV's "My Super Sweet 16". "Farewell, My Queen", which is based on a novel by Chantal Thomas, isn't confection of the same variety. This dimly lit and low budget film marks the end of the fantasy world of Versailles, its gilded halls, jeweled furniture and costumed courtiers. The Royal staff bow and curtsy at every available opportunity – in their spare time, they trade gossip about the private indiscretions of their employers and idly speculate the future of post-revolutionary France.

Unfortunately, the inner workings of the court of Versailles simply aren't any match for the layered politics that define teenage life on "My Super Sweet 16". While Coppola's film was candy floss masquerading as history, "Farewell, My Queen" succeeds in laboring every aspect of daily life at the Royal court. We are told, time and time again, there lurks intrigue behind every palace wall – most of it remains frustratingly off screen. At one point, I found myself thinking Laborde's chores were no different from the experiences of any gap year student – and considerably less hedonistic.

The end, when it arrives, is all too predictable. As members of the royal household are attacked on the streets of Paris, the occupants of Versaille decide to flee. As the royals leave for the last time, their carriages bursting with furniture and jewels, the staff is told "the King will now check the temperature of the throne room". Ice-cold, I would imagine. Not unlike Jacquot's French revolution.

Farewell, My Queen is a sumptuous visual treat and faux-historical romp from French writer and director Benoit Jacquot.

Set mainly in Versailles over three days as the Bastille is stormed and the French Revolution gains unstoppable momentum, this is a lavish production with superb costume design and sets.

Shown mainly from the point of view of the servants to the royals and aristocrats, the film makes good use of France's palatial architecture and neatly shows the difference in the opulence of the super rich compared to the squalid conditions of their largely loyal and deferential lackeys. The film is beautifully shot, both inside and out, and allows the audience to feel they are being given a personal guided tour of one of France's greatest museums loaded with fine art and antiques.

The story focuses on seduction and loyalty between protagonists within the palace and their reaction to the unfolding history which is mainly off-screen. Regrettably, however, the film, which is strongly female orientated in cast and storyline, titillated with lesbian longing and did so in a salacious and voyeuristic manner. It could have amounted to so much more.

This is a film that will appeal to all those who mourn the passing of Downton Abbey.

The French Revolution kicked off in 1789, not too long after America's ended. Fortunately for King George III, he lived in London and not Philadelphia or Boston. King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were not so lucky; their revolution sprouted on their doorstep. The four days which Farewell, My Queen covers, 14-17 July 1789, were dark days indeed for the French monarchy and their noble hangers-on. Nobody leaves Versailles because it is too dangerous, the Bastille is stormed, and there are pamphlets floating around Paris of 286 named individuals whose heads the revolutionaries wish to chop off. The number one name on that pamphlet is Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger).

Unlike Sophia Coppola's 2006 version of this story, Marie is not as young as she once was. She misses her youth but appears to have found company with the Duchess Gabrielle de Polignac (Virginie Ledoyen). Scandalous rumors circulate not only throughout the palace of the extent of their liaisons, but also through the rest of France. Many believe the Duchess is just as responsible for the people's miserable state of affairs as are the King and Queen. In fact, her name is number three on the guillotine wishlist. However, both of these ladies are merely supporting characters in Benoit Jacqot's version; their story is told through the eyes and ears of the queen's loyal reader, Sidonie Laborde (Lea Seydoux).

Sidonie is at the queen's beck and call whenever she feels in the mood for a play or a novel to be read to her. She does not have a more devoted subject; Sidonie absolutely worships the queen is all she does or could do. The queen recognizes the true adoration in Sidonie's eyes and so employs her as a sort of sounding board and confidant; not to the extent of Duchess de Polignac's level of intimacy, but nonetheless, Sidonie is one of the closest servants to the queen. The other palace servants take note of this and Sidonie appears to be among the more higher-ranking servants. Even downstairs in the servant's quarters there is a caste system of hierarchy and rank. Because Sidonie is extremely well read and discreet on top of it, she is quite the capable spy who can ferret out closely held information when events start to pick up the pace outside the palace walls. Sidonie knows which servants to press for info, whose palms need greasing, and in which particular dark corner of the room to stand to eavesdrop on conversations to acquire the most up to date gossip on how the queen is feeling, who woke the King up in the middle of the night, and how close the revolutionaries are getting to the outside walls.

Unfortunately, what sounds like deep palace intrigue and an interesting history lesson in the French Revolution mostly lands with a thud on screen. Marie Antoinette is seen a few times and the Duchess hardly at all. A movie which spends a lot of time discussing the truth and falsehoods of their relationship only puts them in the same room together once. Sidonie holds your interest as she scurries back and forth trying to please the queen but her limited view of the action also limits the audience's view. As the situation becomes more pressing and hectic, the camera almost latches on to the back of Sidonie's neck as she runs down the long, slick hallways of Versailles. Towards the end, the camera work was becoming a bit distracting. One should not notice the camera's movements too much but after another jerky movement to the right and back left or another awkward close-up, I wished they would just place the camera on a tripod and let it be. What the cinematographer may have thought was innovative and eye- catching was more irritating and a case of needless showboating.

The art and costume directors must have had a field day though. Any film set in 1789 Versailles probably has these types of creative personnel lined up down the block raising their hands to get a shot at it. While Farewell, My Queen works on an aesthetic level to produce a great looking period piece (minus the camera), this film is only for the Francophile. Those who relish any story of Marie Antoinette will probably love this movie no matter what. There is a lot of name dropping and whoever remembers their pre-Napoleon French history class from college may smile and nod as name after name is casually mentioned in conversation. For those who are a bit more discerning in their historical fiction though, you will not take very much away from this film you do not already know. Go enjoy some French wine instead or pick up a copy of A Tale of Two Cities to quench your French Revolution itch.

I must admit, when I went to see this film I thought: Not another picture about the revolution in France, I must have seen 20 already. I was pleased to find however that Benoit Jacquot has given the period a lot of thought, and has made one of the more effective costume films in recent years. His Sade of 2000 starred Daniel Auteuil and Isild le Besco, treating one of the lesser figures of the period with great insight into his character. Les adieux a la reine is no less engrossing; he takes us into the cramped corridors of the palace, where the small people live in dingy quarters and hope (usually fruitlessly) to be noticed by the royal couple. The night scene with the courtiers fearfully scanning the list of 286 notables who must have their heads chopped off, lit with a brackish yellow candle light is wonderfully effective.

The performances make the film. Diane Kruger, with her slight accent, makes a wonderful Marie Antoinette: sensing doom, yet still able to reach out to those around her. It's easy to see why Sidonie reveres her. Lea Seydoux, whom I hadn't noticed much up to now, shows much promise as an actress, scurrying around the palace trying to gather information about the riots in Paris. Her face is sometimes sullen, sometimes smiling, always interesting. Xavier Beauvois does well as the King. Finally Virginie Ledoyen as Yolande de Polignac--"the indisputably ravishing but dim-witted Yolande" as Simon Schama calls her. Ledoyen is as imperious and shallow as you could wish. You see how the Queen could lose her head (in both senses) over her.

Farewell, My Queen is a French film that covers three days in the life of servant Sidonie. She is Marie Antoinette's reader. The three days cover the early days of the French Revolution as seen through her eyes. Be advised, this is not a film about Marie Antoinette. If you are entertained by the series Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs and enjoying stealing a glimpse behind the inner workings of court life this film will not disappoint.

There is no exposition at the beginning of this film. The dialog is French with English subtitles. The original audience would be expected to be familiar with the basic history and players of the French Revolution. If you are not familiar, it's a good idea to review this time period before seeing the film.

A sense of mystery is evoked by a combination of narrative reveals and soundtrack. It's a handsome film that duly contrasts the masters and servants via costumes, sets and cinematography. The performances are particularly effective as Diane Kruger and Lea Seydoux are well cast and empathetic in their roles.

I like it. it is not impressive, great or memorable. but it has inspired cast, nice costumes and a fragile story. and this is enough. sure, it is not a portrait. only an adaptation or, if the novel is not known, a drawing about beginning of strong storm. but it may be a real delight, or lemon tea for a fan of French court of Louis XVI. or good point for search informations about this fundamental event. sure, not accuracy is virtue of this film. but more important is its flavor. the fall of a world. the need of change. the news about events out of golden circle, the references and, sure, the way of a young woman - part of sophisticated system. that is all. a film without heroes - if ignore the performance of Michel Robin and small slices of Xavier Beauvois presence.

Having finished «Louis XVI, the Man Who Didn't Want to Be King» ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2128494/ ) and Elena Maria Vidal ( http://planetrussell.net/emvidal2/ )'s «Trianon: A Novel of Royal France» (review: http://traditioninaction.org/bkreviews/A_007br_Trianon.htm ), my wife and I watched «Farewell, My Queen» and deeply regret it. Honestly, it is on par with the pornographic, slanderous pamphlets in the Queen's era.

Besides the unnecessary nudity, did Queen Marie-Antoinette really have same-sex attractions with La Duchesse Gabrielle de Polignac? And did she really make her reader Sidonie Laborde be a decoy and dress like La Duchesse just to save La Duchesse's life? «Louis XVI, the Man Who Didn't Want to Be King» ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2128494/ ) (watch in French here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5g9EuXPtR0 ) is much more accurate because it actually gives the King a part with dialogue, shows Trianon more, shows Marie-Antoinette's children and her being a mother more, mentions more history than just the Storming of the Bastille and a passing reference to the defecting of priests, and includes scenes from the King's trial.

Two thumbs down for «Farewell, My Queen». Two thumbs up for «Louis XVI, the Man Who Didn't Want to Be King» ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2128494/ ).

Benoît Jacquot's Berlin Golden Bear contender in 2012, FAREWELL, MY QUEEN taps into a beguiling re-imagination of Marie Antoinette's (Kruger) impassioned affinity with Gabrielle de Polastron, duchess de Polignac (Ledoyen), on the eve of the French Revolution in 1789, without delving into more scandalously graphic details of their lesbian relationship, and unlike Sofia Coppola's palatially sumptuous MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006), Jacquot complies to Chantal Thomas' source novel and the film narrates entirely from the viewpoint of the Queen's young servant Sidonie Laborde (Seydoux), who often reads for her, which signifies that preponderantly viewers are invited to get a peep of the back rooms of Palace of Versailles for a change.

Needless to say, the royal mise-en-scène has its sublime allure to those addicted to the period grandeur, often in passing glimpses wherever Sidonie drifts around in her fretful steps, this proves to be a cunningly economical stratagem of shifting the focus to the characters' mood swings when an impending uprising is in the pipeline. All hell broke loose therein, but not Sidonie, she remains inexorably loyal to Marie Antoinette after has been privileged with a tête-à-tête by the Queen in person, which the latter confides to her the affection she feels for Gabrielle. It makes her feel special about herself, it also thrills her sexually, to be granted such a honor which is out of her rung, she becomes the closest friend of the Queen of France, what more can a girl of her place want?

Given the frenzied context, Sidonie barely has time to relish the joy, she puts her back into fishing latest information of the revolution, voluntarily running errands for the Queen, including waywardly barging into Gabrielle's boudoir and glaring her naked body with a trenchant incisiveness of jealousy and disparagement. But what does her "specialness" really mean to the Queen? When Marie Antoinette bestows her the ultimate mission, it hits her like a sledgehammer, inwardly, she might have a faintest hope that Marie Antoinette would indulge her like a forbidden fruit, in a more peaceful time, maybe, but not at that crunch, when monarchy is hanging by a thread, all she can do is to silently accept her fate as an honored decoy, the last thing she could ever do for her Queen, then for the first time in her life, she wallows in her moment of superiority, however facile and ominous it is, and the story just ends there, when she forever departs from Marie Antoinette's life, she, Sidonie Laborde, becomes a nobody.

Admittedly, the film feels foreshortened, even myopic when considering such a sensational commotion is undergoing, there must be something more theatrically pressing can be projected on the screen (even Marie Antoinette's own story has many colorful facets), but in this unapologetically feminist reconstruction, Jacquot gallantly attempts to deconstruct the undertow of this particular situation (from a servant's perspective) fraught with attraction, disaffection, perturbation and self-deception, exclusively among women from different strata.

Léa Seydoux gives a patchy incarnation of Sidonie, often casts her customarily inscrutable gaze masked with an air of stuck-up insouciance to the camera, but short in supply when a young maiden's ingenuousness is demanded, she seems more impenetrable than all her more worldly seniors, which considerably deflects Sidonie from being a queen-stuck virgin as she is. Diana Kruger, as her antithesis, contrives a much more rounded interpretation of the Queen, a mellow amalgam of personable femininity and fickle monarchist, an incorrigible romantic and a well- adjusted planner, that's only garnered from her fitful screen-time, and leaves us hot to trot to envision what she would be doing before her ill-fated sign-off. Perhaps a revisit of Coppola's work can quench the yearning, or otherwise.

Those expecting an insightful, albeit fictitious account of the last days of Marie Antoinette in power in the broader context of the beginnings of the French Revolution will probably (like me) be disappointed. Instead think of a French version of Upstairs/Downstairs set in the Palace of Versailles where the vast majority of this story takes place. Historical insight takes a firmly directed back seat to the routines undertaken by palace staff, both courtiers, underlings and social aspirants and their inter-relationships occasionally with the Queen.

The primary tale involves a well cast Léa Seydoux as Sidonie Laborde, an upwardly mobile, ambitious commoner who is an oral reader to the Queen, as well as being more than a little fixated on her persona in general. I liked Diane Kruger as Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France. Besides oozing a strong degree of sensuality, she is appropriately cast as the Austrian born Antoinette. The trouble is there's not really enough of her onscreen, despite Kruger, being ostensibly the second lead. The same could be said of Virginie Ledoyen as Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, a favourite of the queen. Her character is underused as well. The film suffers through having the major narrative thread buried under myriad, insubstantial sub-stories involving minor characters. The really interesting dynamic involving the 3 female leads and the allegedly lesbian attractions the Queen may have felt/experienced are only ever really touched upon superficially.

Historical major flash points such as news about the storming of the Bastille are simply discussed as gossip and rumours among the Palace occupants, which I suppose were the chief mechanisms of social media of those times. But really, it doesn't make for riveting viewing. Most viewers I'm sure will find the "climax" to the main thread regarding Sidonie's final personally dangerous task for her queen, anticlimactic, rather than suspenseful as it should have been.

Overall, though well-acted and of marginal interest, Farewell My Queen is a pretty insignificant film, set amongst one of the most significant periods of European history. In hindsight I was probably a little generous in giving it 6/10.

If you are expecting a French film chronicling the last days of Marie Antoinette, then you may be in for a slight disappointment. Brilliantly directed by the Benoit Jacquot (who also co-wrote the much less impressive script) and starring Diane Kruger as Marie Antoinette and Lea Seydoux, who plays one of the Queen's readers named Sidonie Laborde, and is also the protagonist of this film (for some reason) "Farewell, My Queen" is advertised as the story of the last days of Marie Antoinette, but it's more like the somewhat muted story of the two months before the "last days" of Marie Antoinette. So, even though "Farewell, My Queen" is a better movie than Sofia Coppola's ill advised, indie rock inspired, "Marie Antoinette", due to the faux-final-days story structure, in conjunction with the fact that "Farewell, My Queen" uses Marie Antoinette as a side character, telling the story from the point of view of Sidonie Laborde (a nobody) this is a film which may have many audiences scratching their heads as to why the need to show this particular moment in the life of Marie Antoinette.

As I alluded to above, "Farewell My Queen" chronicles a miniscule portion in time during the last months of Marie Antoinette's reign. However, audiences are not treated to "the good part", or the part they undoubtedly came to see. What I mean by this is there are almost no visuals of the actual Revolution, plus (and more importantly) we don't actually get to witness the final days of Marie Antoinette's life simply because "Farewell, My Queen" curiously plays out through the eyes of one of her ladies-in-waiting. Instead, audiences are forced to sit through a pseudo-love story that focuses not on the very interesting end of Marie Antoinette's reign, but on the minutiae right before it! This film is the equivalent of sitting through the love story of Jack and Rose, with the movie ending just before the Titanic strikes the iceberg. Yes, I am aware that this is a script which was adapted from a critically acclaimed novel by Chantal Thomas, BUT it still doesn't make the story's focus any less misguided. I mean, there are some scenes which do attempt to create a somewhat intriguing love story, an aspect which must be fully accredited to some fantastic mood setting by Jacquot, but in the same vein, this film never rises above said simplistic love story.

Side Note: Another issue many audiences will likely come across is how frivolously "Farewell, My Queen" throws its viewers right into the deep end of this story, with little exposition. In fact, the greatest individual flaw which hinders "Farewell, My Queen" will be seen in the audiences immediate realization that neither Jacquot's visuals or the engaging performances (which I will speak about later) are going to give those not formally versed in the players of the French Revolution and the fall of Versailles, the background information they may desperately desire, as this film half-introduces more and more characters of seeming importance. So, do yourself a favor, if you are going to see "Farewell, My Queen" (at the very least) peruse the Marie Antoinette Wiki page before going to see this film.

With that said, the visuals (the set design in conjunction with the director) are somewhat breathtaking at times, due to Jacquot making some very brave directorial choices, including tons of long takes which trail behind characters as they weave in and out of crowds, giving audiences an intimate feeling of the atmosphere of late 1700's France, and a few beautifully constructed shots of the landscapes. And I guess it doesn't hurt that the two female leads, Seydoux and Kruger, both give engaging performances. But even if Kruger's interpretation of Antoinette is one of the best I've ever seen and Seydoux is so captivating to watch as she effortlessly takes control of the movie every time she is on screen, there is simply not enough in the story or the writing to give reasoning to the eccentric behavior or motives behind the actions of Marie Antoinette or (more importantly) give a reason as to why Sidonie is so infatuated with her. So, even though, in the latter half of the film (more than an hour in) Jacquot does create an atmosphere which allows these characters to somewhat blossom, many will find it hard to care about a Marie Antoinette story that contains no beheadings.

Final Thought: Based on a "last days" plot which attempts to imitate a much better film like "Downfall", even with some spectacular direction and two engaging female performances, "Farewell, My Queen" is nothing more than this year's "My Week With Marilyn", telling a story which focuses on characters nobody really cares about, rather than simply creating a storyline around the life/last days of (in this case) Marie Antoinette. So, even if you are a Marie Antoinette fan, with the overall structure the way it is, "Farewell, My Queen" is nothing more than DVD worthy at best.

Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus Find more review at: movieswithmarkusonline.blogspot.com

It's the middle of the night, everyone's asleep, and I decide to indulge my not-so-guilty pleasure: historical dramas. Farewell, My Queen sounds promising, because it should be about Marie Antoinette, the much-maligned, often misunderstood Austrian queen who lost her head for being foreign, frivolous, and, apparently, a walking pretext for revolution.

Diane Kruger seemed inspired casting. She brings the right mix of hauteur and melancholy to the doomed queen. But then there's Léa Seydoux, the charisma vacuum with a famous last name, playing a servant, because nothing says cinematic tension like watching a glum maid wander Versailles with the emotional range of a beige curtain.

And then the film isn't actually about Marie Antoinette at all. It's about Seydoux's character because the story we've all been dying to hear is about the blank-faced footnote to history getting her 90 minutes of fame. To compound the felony, since box-checking is the new storytelling, the whole thing pivots into yet another reimagined lesbian love affair, reviving the same salacious gossip that was weaponized against Marie Antoinette in her lifetime - the stuff actual historians have spent decades debunking.

So instead of a subtle, nuanced portrait of a tragic queen, we get a reheated pile of tabloid slander dressed up as edgy revisionism. Two centuries of myth-busting, flushed down the gilded toilet. Bravo, truly.

Farewell My Queen screened recently at the Rendezvous with French Cinema festival in New York. A different take on the oft-told story of Marie Antoinette and the storming of the Bastille, this French film focuses on the difficult behind-the-scenes life at Versailles. An "Upstairs Downstairs" at the grandest palace of all, the protagonist is not the queen but rather her "lectrice" - a lady in waiting whose job is to read books to the bored Marie Antoinette. The film is best at depicting the petty backstabbing, gossiping and ambitions of the hangers-on at court. The crowded and dirty "back stairs" rooms are vividly contrasted to the opulence of the grand state halls. A well acted, nicely paced historical drama.

I kept being reminded on the movie DOWNFALL. Both share same the behind-the-scenes telling of failing authority, how in the end everything feels as if it's built on sand. It's not a grand telling. There's nothing grand and about it. It's almost claustrophobic at times. Whether this was a directing decision or bc of a limited budget I don't know. Whatever, it makes for a different take on the story we all more or less know.

Written and directed by Benoît Jacquot and based on the novel by Chantal Thomas, Farewell, My Queen explores the death throes of the French monarchy over a period of three days in July, 1789. Set in the Palace of Versailles at the beginning of the French Revolution, Sidonie (Lea Seydoux), known as the reader for Queen Marie-Antoinette (Diane Kruger), is responsible for selecting books and reading them aloud to the queen. Because of her closeness to the monarch, she is able to act as a spy, securing information about events taking place inside and outside the palace, pressing selected servants for information, and eavesdropping on conversations to gather the most up-to-date gossip to pass along to Marie.

The film is seen from Sidonie's point of view, a vantage point that illuminates the sharp social divisions inside the palace with the servants living in crowded rat-infested quarters, and the royals dwelling in opulent accommodations. Lea Seydoux delivers a powerful performance as the devoted servant of the queen, conveying an air of mystery about who she really is in a way that adds to her allure. Kruger portrays Marie-Antoinette as sensual and hedonistic and there is a hint of more than Platonism in the way she interacts with both Sidonie and the Duchess de Polignac (Virginie Ledoyen), a relationship that tests Sidonie's loyalty.

On the morning of July 15th, news spreads rapidly that the king had been awakened at two in the morning. No one knows the reason, but fear spreads throughout the court. If the king is ill, who will protect those totally dependent on the nobles who control their lives? It is soon revealed, however, that the king is not ill, but that a mob has stormed the Bastille and a revolt has begun against the aristocracy. Little information is available. Rumors abound based only on conversations whispered in the hallways and the servant's quarters. When the King travels to Paris and the Queen decides against an escape to Metz, an aura of inevitably descends on the Palace and the nobles begin to abandon ship, competing for places on the coaches seeking a safe haven.

Antoinette makes every effort to continue with business as usual, looking at magazines to admire new styles and colors for the coming season, paying scant attention to the fact that her name is number one in a list of 300 targets for the guillotine. Fearful of losing her only connection to the world, Sidonie is willing to risk the ultimate sacrifice if it is in the queen's best interest. Even though Farewell, My Queen is historically questionable and may hold us at arms length emotionally, it provides a fresh view of events that we know about only from history books or stuffy costume dramas.

Jacquot captures the authenticity of time and place and also the human side of the power struggle. Unfortunately, the film pays little attention to the issues that led to the revolt, never mentioning the abuse of power by the monarchy. Indeed, the Revolution serves only as a backdrop for the story which is more about seduction, loyalty, and betrayal than social upheaval. Rather than making a statement that is relevant for our times, the intricacies of sexual intrigue and love triangles dominate the film, titillating rather than persuading, and making the goings on difficult to care about.

I've seen some folks remark that modern audiences are too obsessed with plot in cinema, and have forgotten how to just enjoy a movie for what it is. I can appreciate that sentiment insofar as it's applied to titles where storytelling is a secondary consideration (e.g. Summer blockbusters); elsewhere, if a drama or thriller succeeds at communicating its major ideas, but not so much the minutiae of its tale, the result may surely suffer. Then again, sometimes a broad mood is all that is truly necessary, and for the nitty gritty of a narrative to be deprioritized is not so terrible after all. I note this because I think 'Farewell, my queen' counts among those pictures that is better with regards to its overall vibes than it is in the specifics of the writing. This is hardly to malign the screenplay, or the book it's based on. Rather, it just seems to me that filmmaker Benoît Jacquot approached that screenplay as a guideline, a foundation for stirring up the energy that the feature carries, rather than concern himself with every word - abiding by the spirit and not the letter. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, and it's just one of any number of possible ways to make a movie and tell a story, but the distinction is noticeable in my opinion.

The disadvantage of that ethos is that the work that went into the writing is taken for granted as it is disregarded; the dialogue becomes relatively unimportant, and only the most substantial essence of the characterizations and scenes remain. On the other hand, Jacquot zeroes in on the ambience of the proceedings from one moment to the next, and this is the picture's greatest strength: the fear, uncertainty, anger, grief, nervous electricity swirling about Versailles is the nectar on which the cast feeds, and the prime directive informing the construction of the piece otherwise. Léa Seydoux and Diane Kruger's performances are fraught with dynamic, unsettled emotions, with Virginie Ledoyan but a half-step behind; if the same is any less true of the likes of Noémie Lvovsky, Michel Robin, Lolita Chammah, or others, it's only on account of the lesser prominence of their supporting parts. Meanwhile, Jacquot's orchestration of shots and scenes as director, Romain Winding's cinematography, and even the lighting lend considerably to the vivid disquiet of the unfolding saga. And of course 'Farewell, my queen' is well made in every other capacity, including outstanding filming locations and production design, beautiful costume design, and impeccable hair and makeup - all very much befitting the one-time splendor of the palace and French royalty.

Ironically, while the feature is focused more on the overarching feelings of its tableau than on the details that shape them, I think it may have ultimately been more successful - that is, more impactful - if we viewers were treated to the full extent of what the storytelling could have been. The partial loss of the gravity and import of the plot is further hampered by pacing that's a tad too brisk for its own good (perhaps in excess by only 5-10%, but it's enough to make a difference). In a like manner, I observe some instances of Jacquot's direction that are a smidgen too forceful, or moments when the cinematography is overzealous. In the latter case I think especially of a scene not long after the one-hour mark, an exchange between Marie-Antoinette and Gabrielle, during which the camera swings back and forth between them; in my mind it's an inappropriate and distracting level of activity that serves to undercut the significance of the scene. This is well done generally, but it's not perfect.

Still, maybe I, too, am getting hung up on the details; perhaps I'm being too harsh. Much more than not it's finely crafted, well written, and solidly engaging and satisfying. I admit critiques are purely subjective; if others have gotten more out of this than I have, then I'm glad for them. Even at that I had a good time watching 'Farewell, my queen,' and I think it earns a fair recommendation. Don't go out of your way for it, and it's suggested particularly for fans of those involved, but if you do have the chance to watch, it's a swell way to spend 100 minutes.

Wonderful tale of Marie Antoinette just before the French Revolution. This movie centers on her and her emotional roller-coaster ride up to her beheading. It reminds us the of how truly exalted royalty were and how everyone around them fawned over them whether they really loved them or not. It also shows how twisted your point of view becomes when you are drilled with the belief that you are in fact better than everyone else around you since birth. The queen finds it just fine to use her reader, one of the few who actually adore her, in a way that might very well get her killed.