I watched this film purely because I could find nothing better to do with my time that evening.
The film has some big names - Micheal Caine (who manages to break his usual type a little), Kate Winslet, and River Phoneix's gorgeous brother (whose name currently escapes me, I'm sorry).
The plot is relatively obvious but not without it's moments of drama.
The Marquis de Sade has been imprisonned following the Revolution. He is residing in an insane asylum that Phoneix presides over. The latter's character is a gentle, young priest who believes in the best in everyone and is the forerunner of occupational therapy! The Marquis is housed in a particularly splendid cell and is allowed to write his perverse stories to help him remain sane.
Trouble is that Kate's character is smuggling the stories out to a dashing young man on a horse (who never learns her name, and she never learns his, but the sexual tension is clearly (and predictably) there) who canters off with the manuscripts to a publishers. The stories go down a storm and upset Napoleon quite deeply. The skit with Napoleon is one of the many light hearted moments in this film. He demands that the Marquis be silenced. The evil Micheal Caine, who runs an entirely different sort of mental institute, in fact the sort that were popular right up into the end of the victorian age.
I never give away the plot in my reviews. I think it's annoying - some people read these things to decide whether to watch the films. So, that's all your getting on the plot.
The acting is good, I can't deny that. The plot is thin, very thin. But the dialogue is often witty and, if you think really quite hard, the film has a point. It's beautiful circlular-ness (if you've seen it, you'll understand this) makes it sort of satisfying.
But, and this is a big one, this film is basically just an excuse for porn. Don't get me wrong, I'm no prude - far from. But I watched this film with a group of semi-intellectuals who were all pretending that it was terribly clever. Ok, it's not a dumb film - but I don't think that's the truth behind their motives. If you want to watch a film because it's clever - go ahead. If you want to watch a film because of it's sexual content - fine, have fun! But, I get very annoyed when porn is thinly veiled as something intellectual. If the film had removed the reference to the Marquis - it would have been criticised deeply. Give it an historical spin and everyone loves it.
I'm not saying everyone who liked this film (I liked it - sort of) did because of the sex. I'm not saying that everyone was dishonest about their reasons for liking it. I'm just saying it's no more or less intellectual than something by Tarantino!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: John Duigan - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Penelope Cruz
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
I was interested to find out a bit more about this movie, thanks for your review, I appreciate you not giving away the plot.
peppersinclaire 15.10.2001 17:36
Can't say I agree on your point about the sex in this movie - it's never erotic, and mostly there to highlight the way in which sensitive minds are affected by strong material, like de Sade's work. I certainly didn't find any of it a turn-on! Good op! P$
MichelleScott 02.10.2001 11:14
Very good op. Hadn't heard of this film before, yet it has big names in it.
With bedroom eyes and the mischievous smirk of an insatiable roué, Geoffrey Rush is a ... more
perfect choice to play the Marquis de Sade inQuills, adapted by Doug Wright from his own stage play and directed by Philip Kaufman. Imprisoned in France's Charenton a...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
With bedroom eyes and the mischievous smirk of an insatiable roué, Geoffrey Rush is a ... more
perfect choice to play the Marquis de Sade inQuills, adapted by Doug Wright from his own stage play and directed by Philip Kaufman. Imprisoned in France's Charenton a...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Academy Award Winner Geoffrey Rush ('Shine') stars as the infamous Matrquis de Sade who ... more
has shocked generation after generation with highly charged erotic writings. Rush's powerful central performance is supported by an exceptional ensemble cast, inclu...
Academy Award Winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine) stars as the infamous Marquis de Sade who has ... more
shocked generation after generation with his highly charged erotic writings. Rush's powerful performance is supported by an exceptional ensemble cast including th...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Quills [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78526889.jpg "Quills [DVD] [2001]")
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