Masterpieces: Sofia Coppola On the Reappraisal of ‘Marie Antoinette’

Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette premiered 20 years ago at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews. Starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman, the film drew much of its criticism from how it approached a pivotal moment in French history. Critics, guarding their own past, struggled to embrace Coppola’s vision of France’s final queen. 

In the two decades since the film has been dramatically reevaluated. “It was such a girly movie, that I realized it’s not for everyone,” Coppola says. “I’m so happy that over the years it’s found its audience.” Today, it stands as a celebrated depiction of a teenage girl navigating an impossible role, ranking among cinema’s finest explorations of girlhood. What once struck audiences as a controversial move – blending modern music into a period piece – now feels ahead of its time. 

In the debut episode of Masterpieces, Coppola reveals that production designer Dean Tavoularis, a friend and collaborator of her father, first piqued her interest in the story of Marie Antoinette. He “was reading the Stefan Zweig biography and talking about it at dinner,” Coppola says. “I had no idea she was 14-years-old, and just talking to him, I got really interested in the subject because I felt like she was such a figure in history, but I didn’t really know that much about it.” 

Antonia Fraser’s 2001 biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey painted a more sympathetic view of the Queen’s life – a perspective Coppola found made for a perfect entry point into the film. “It was really in-depth and from a woman’s perspective of what her experience was like, and it was very relatable. The themes were universal, she made her very human,” says Coppola. 

The biography sparked the idea for the script, which Coppola began while also writing Lost in Translation. “I would go back and forth,” she says. “I really love that because when you get stuck on one project, I would go to the other one.” Winning an Oscar for Lost in Translation gave her a “free pass” to make any movie, and she chose this moment to launch Marie Antoinette. 

The full conversation, including how Coppola reflects on the film’s legacy, 20 years on, is now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.