Directed By Marie Kreutzer

Starring – Vicky Krieps, Colin Morgan, Ivana Urban

The Plot – A fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth (Krieps), once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain her public image.

This film is currently not rated

Corsage – Official Trailer | HD | IFC Films – YouTube

POSITIVES

After “Blonde” shamelessly spit on the grave and legacy that was Marilyn Monroe, there was a little bit of pre-conceived hesitation to “Corsage”, based entirely on the lack of factual accuracy that made up a majority of the film’s structure. Thankfully, Kreutzer, an Austrian native herself, not only tastefully constructs a fantastical approach to this royal figure that does her life and immense responsibility a great service in depiction, but also imbeds an introspective accessibility to the psychology of Elisabeth through an alternate timeline that if nothing else is fascinating to piece together. This is mainly from the mesmerizing performance from Krieps, who has once again earned herself an Oscar nomination in the eyes of this writer, for the ferocity and resiliency that dominates her appeal, with timeless radiance that Judith Kaufman’s intimate cinematography articulates effortlessly. Vicky gives it her all with a thunderous performance that sometimes paints itself in these candid facial registries unlocking a key to her soul to the daily madness she’s asked to carry out, while others supplanting the commanding depth to her deliveries that often devastate everything and everyone in her wake, with unfiltered discontent that continuously lashes out against. As for the aforementioned script, it would certainly be easy for this project to fall down the wrong rabbit hole, with its lack of factual accuracy, however Kreitzer frequently supplants a few outdated items and song selections to the engagement, almost immediately establishing that this is a work almost entirely of fiction, and that we the audience should appreciate it as such. This is further elevated by the occasional comedic tones that sprinkle throughout some truly awkward interactions, with everything from humility to rebelling serving as the spark that ignites the expressive flame. Speaking of expressive, the film is loaded with attention-grabbing instances of production, in everything from the bold costume and wig choices to the interior sheik of 19th century Austrian style exuding elegant tastes in luxurious set designs, everything here breeds a consciousness to the stuffy reality of Elisabeth’s blossoming mid-life crisis, painting a life of privilege and posh that grows old in a world with stakes and consequences beyond their stretching mansion. Kruetzer paints this sentiment with various hospital victims that Elisabeth visits frequently, in turn illustrating a reflective similarity to their plights that deconstructs everything down to the smallest differences in her to them, in turn giving way to her own internal transformation that eventually exudes itself externally with the duration of her growing discontent.

NEGATIVES

Where the film does compromise its execution, a bit is in a few key hinderances of diminishing returns that momentarily tested my investment to the narrative, all the while keeping it from fully reaching the potential of its rumored Oscar consideration. For starters, the film is far too long, even at 108 minutes, resulting in more than a few meandering gaps of second and third act storytelling that all but halts the progression and evolution of the narrative with these plodding instances that had me checking my watch to see how close we were to the climax. Even this element is underwhelming, as the film’s final twenty minutes flash-forward a bit too often in the expansion of the setting, wiping away the claustrophobic conflict of Elisabeth’s daily spin cycle on repeat, for some developments that truly added very little to my interpretation. The ending itself is beautifully poetic in a metaphorical sense, but even then, I feel like some scenes were missing near the end of the film that better developed these suddenly springing directions, creating some leaps in a logic that could’ve used some more opportunity inside of the film’s biggest weak period, in turn earning it every bit of the run time in tow. In addition to this, I can appreciate that this is Krieps showcase for the taking, as her turn is spellbinding, as initially alluded towards. However, the rest of the ensemble are painfully bland in consequence, leaving little in assistance for Krieps to bounce off of, while simultaneously sagging the entertainment factor in returns during the rare but meaningful moments when Elisabeth isn’t on-screen. And finally, while there are more than a few fun sequences, I feel like the film never fully explored the dramatic flair in Elisabeth’s deteriorating relationship or the country surrounding this turbulence. Because this is a drama first enveloping, it often persists without the kind of tension that pays off its many pocketed conflicts rewardingly, in turn establishing no long-term consequences or temporary conundrums to her abandoning ship that would otherwise keep her grounded as what society and royalty want her to be.

OVERALL
While “Corsage” is a work of mostly fiction, the triumphant turn from Krieps and sympathetically imaginative direction from Kruetzer is a blossoming reality, giving us an unorthodox approach to period piece biopics that may garner a few Oscar nominations along the way. Though the film is slightly too long within the context of the story being told, and the compelling drama is practically non-existent, the intimate portrait of an empress rebelling against the system that made her is nonetheless a crowning concept, proving the weight of the throne too devastating for some souls meant to soar.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-