Review of The Queen of Versailles (2012) by Dave P — 21 Jul 2012

If the campers of the Occupy movement can't find enough to enrage them in the pages of the WSJ, they can certainly marvel at the disgusting display put on in filmmaker Lauren Greenfield's documentary The Queen Of Versailles. The film, about one of America's richest families, documents a kind of allegory of "Main Street's" troubles after the financial crisis of 2008 by focusing on a celebrity couple who set out to build the world's largest single family residence prior to the market crash, only to then find themselves at the mercy of the banks in the wake of the crisis, just like the rest of America.

The titular character (pun intended, especially if you've ever seen her) is Jackie Siegel, former beauty queen and trophy wife to billionaire David Siegel, a self proclaimed king-maker who made his fortune on timeshares. The film follows these two and their family, as they relish in their luxury, only to have it "ripped away" in the wake of the crisis. "Ripped away" may be a reality to the Siegels, but it is certainly an exaggeration to the 99%, who will likely see the film as a document to the excess and disassociated nature of the filthy rich (also not hyperbole, as evidence by the dog poop left around the house). Jackie cries of being penniless, despite continuing to ride around in her limo and purchasing unnecessary bicycles for her ungrateful kids.

But thankfully, Greenfield avoids demonizing her subjects, instead letting the irony play out to some laughs and more shaking of heads and stares of disbelief. The filmmaker understands her fortune at stumbling on this story (she started the film long before the crisis, and certainly stayed with it because of the drama that unfolded), and it is clear she developed a trust with the Siegels to have such candid access to their lives and their troubles. She does a fine job at balancing the absurd nature of the drama with a genuine affection for the Siegels that has a dichotic effect of having us hate them while sympathizing with them at the same time. They are not "normal" as they claim, but they certainly embody what so many of the rest of main street suffered these past few years.

It's a testament to Greenfield and her team, and it's what makes the movie really great. This isn't Michael Moore banging on their door with rhetorical questions, nor is it an expose of America's rich. It's a well crafted documentary about one family that recounts a complex parable so fitting in these times.