Good concept, poorly executed.

Beautiful, moving film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

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.

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.

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.

This film is a wonderful study of what the last days of the French royalty in Versailles, particularly of the way, Marie Antoinette behaved and delivered her commands. It is all seen through the eyes of her reader, a very interesting character. She is the queen's personal reader, someone who has been bewitched by the Queen's strong charm. There are rumours in the palace, and very few people can validate them. Whether it is from loyalty, admiration, or fear, secrets are guarded and some dubious qualities admired, maybe misunderstood. It is hard to believe Sidoine can't see the true nature of the queen. Maybe it is because she might be infatuated with her, or maybe because the way Antoinette is played by Diane Kruger, there is very little choice but to be in awe of her.Kruger is a beautiful woman, and she can play mystical characters very well. One could believe kingdoms were fighting for her Helen in "Troy", and in "Farewell", it is likely she probably wielded and manipulated her court more effectively than her husband did. There is still room in her performance to show that she still felt limited and bound by some conventions, but it was clear she was a powerful woman.Her scenes with Sidoine are full of tension, making us wonder what is going behind each woman's facade. We never really know because all we see is very controlled reactions, emotions, furtive glances, light brushes, hints at deeper and more forbidden forces.Sidoine knows how to find information, and she struggles because it might not be a good idea to know too much. It haunts you. She is in the most inner circle of the palace, and she might see and know too much, but she fails to make good use of what she knows. In fact, like Antoinette, she might be restricted by her social place and gender, and it's that inability to overstep her boundaries that might surprise people in the final scenes of the movie, as we are floored by Antoninette's request and Sidoine's reaction.The film is gorgeously produced, scored, and photographed. There is something about the way that period in French history looked like. It complements the decadence of the upper classes. We know such opulence is not cheap, and we can see in the disdain shown to the lower classes, that there will be consequences for all involved. It is an elegant and intelligent film, full of layers that are shown are effectively displayed. Much is done with the presentation of a costume, a reference to a special dish, how culture is appreciated and used as a weapon here. Antoinette knows her place, and she uses it grandly, as we can see by Kruger's performance. Power is intoxicating and binding, and it can lead to very dangerous resolutions, but this will not beat the power of the human heart, and that's the essence of this queen's maneuvers.