Marie Antoinette booed
2006-05-24 13:12
Cannes - Marie Antoinette, the long-awaited feature from Oscar-winning US director Sofia Coppola, was booed by audiences at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.
The movie, filmed on location in Versailles, tracks the life of the 14-year-old Austrian princess from her arrival in the French court to the final storming of the palace by angry mobs.
Marie Antoinette is played by Kirsten Dunst, turning in a charming performance as the teenage royal who launches into a life of excess to relieve her boredom and loneliness within the court's strict confines.
It had been expected to be a strong contender for the Palme d'Or as the festival begins the countdown towards Sunday's top award.
Coppola, who made the widely acclaimed Lost in Translation, is seen as a gifted director capable of subtle, poetic work on the screen.
But, despite sumptuous sets and costumes and a rollicking rock'n'roll soundtrack, the film was found to be a disappointing and unconvincing story that prompted sniggers at points, and boos which drowned out the scattered applause at the end.