Kirsten Dunst has switched to television shows in the last few years but spent her youth acting in several movies, including “Interview with the Vampire.” This duo disc of movies features Dunst acting in two-period pieces. The first, “Little Women,” has her as one of the March sisters in Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ adapted for the screen. In the second movie, she plays Marie Antoinette, a queen of France, in the late 1700s.
“Little Women” follows the story of the March sisters, a wealthy family ravaged by the Civil War left with very little in the way of money, but the family is anything but poor with a deep affection for each other and their lives. The sisters are best friends as they stay home with their housekeeper while their father fights in the war, and their mother helps with war aid. A prominent young man, Theodore or Laurie (Christian Bale) movies in next door. Winona Ryder plays the main character, a writer cataloging her epic journey as Jo March along with her sisters Beth (Claire Danes), Amy (Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis), and Meg (Trini Alvarado) along with their mother played by Susan Sarandon.
The girls’ lives change as they grow and move away from home, leaving sickly Beth at home with her mom. Meg stays close to home too as she marries and begins her own family as the oldest child. Jo moves to New York after a lover’s quarrel with Laurie and follows her dreams of writing where she befriends a German teacher. Amy movies in with her great aunt to gain social status from her aunt’s wealth and ends up falling in love with an unexpected face from her past. Together, even though miles apart, the girls fight death, heartbreak, poverty, hunger, and more with love and grace.
In “Marie Antoinette,” the Austrian Princess is forced to leave her home and old life in the past as she weds future French king Louis XVI. They even took away her puppy! How can anyone marry into a family and take away everything that is theirs? According to the movie, Marie was a hugger and much different than her new French home. The strange new habits create a challenge for Marie to become accustomed to as a new member of the French Court.
Problems occur on the wedding night, and with no means to arise to a solution, the new Dauphine spends her days in frivolity shopping, gossiping, hairstyles, and cake. She soon becomes known as a money-spending queen while the people endure hunger during a time of recession because of excessive taxes. She finally consummates her marriage and has a daughter, then a son, then along comes another baby, and then the baby dies spiraling the queen into depression. Before she can cope with her loss, the revolution sends her and her family out of their home.
Kirsten Dunst makes a believable young daughter and a misplaced queen and watching the movies back to back allows you to see the growth the young actress made in a matter of years as she developed her art. Both movies captivate while catapulting their audiences into different times to feel the anguish of war along with the effects on two prominent families. Definitely watch these two movies if you haven’t seen them yet as each offers something for everyone from love, war, and even royalty. Good luck getting a man to enjoy either though, as these are refined chick flicks, one to make your heart feel whole and one to break it in half.
Now available on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment
