Corsage * * ½

A corsage is a very tight body-shaping garment.  One of the problems that comes with wearing  it is that you feel like you're not getting enough oxygen, which is pretty well the feeling I had when watching this film.

Sissy responds to my review.

Set in the 1870's it's the story of Empress Elizabeth who was endearingly referred to as Sissy.  She was renowned for her good looks - a rather unusual quality in royal lineage. She was married to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, a right stick in the mud, so she rebelled by riding her horse all the time and becoming hideously self-obsessed.   

If you're looking for a truly historical drama this probably isn't the film to refer to.  Personally, I don't mind re-imaginings, but that's not really where this film goes wrong.

It wasn't just the main character, who gave me the shits, it was also the creative telling of her story.  Shunting backward and forward through time.  One minute her child is alive, the next she is dead, then she is alive again. Then she was in England, then in Hungary, then back to Austria.

The film seems to be made up mostly of vignettes rather than a continuing story.  It makes some bold moves, like using modern music and songs (but it wouldn't be the first to do that) and other contemporary references, like flipping the bird. 

Empress Elizabeth didn't want to grow old.  Forty scared the pants off her. So she sleeps around a bit to reassure herself she still has it.  

Aside from her corsage, rude gestures, and smoking, the film suggests Sissy championed early cinematography  (how ridiculous!) The people she can most relate to are the insane and the wounded (she likes to visit hospitals a bit), as though their terrible suffering is similar to her own self pity.

But I did like the beautiful cinematography and the sets and location.  It's a gorgeous looking thing from time to time.  However as a story I found it irritating and uninspiring, but what do you expect when you spend two hours with a narcissist?