Review of Quills (2000) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013

Based upon the acclaimed play by Doug Wright, who adapted it for the film here, and directed by Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff (1983), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1987) and Rising Sun (1993)). This is a lurid, but visually stunning character piece with some great performances.

It's not meant to be historically accurate, it only imagines the last few years of the life of it's central character, and his little escapades while locked up, but it's entertaining. Set during the Reign of Terror, right slap bang in the middle of the French Revolution, the Marquis De Sade (Geoffrey Rush) has been incarcerated at an asylum at Charenton for his obscene, pornographic works of literature.

The asylum is run by administrator Abbé du Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix), who is in love with the asylum's laundress Madeleine LeClerc (Kate Winslet), who smuggles the Marquis' works out to the world.

Napoleon (Ron Cook) orders all of the Marquis' works to be destroyed, and sends in Dr. Royer-Collard (Michael Caine) to silence the Marquis once and for all, but the Dr. Royer-Collard gets more than he bargain for in the asylum, and with the Marquis.

You can't believe this sort of thing went on, but Rush is brilliant as the insane, flamboyant Marquis, and it has some very good performances throughout, and it shows that historical drama's don't all have to be about good manners and the higher classes behaving.