Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Quills (2000)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Philip Kaufman
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine 
Time: 124 minutes

 


Adapted from the Doug Wright 1995 play of the same, Quills offers a heavily fictionalized account of the Marquis de Sade’s last years of incarceration in the insane asylum of Charenton, before his death, at the age of 74. Here, we see Sade manage to keep on publishing his controversial works, thanks to the help of a laundress, leading Napoleon 1 to send in Dr. Royer-Collard to attempt to silence the Marquis once and for all.

With a compelling story involving such an interesting character, a talented director at work in a project he is passionate about, and a cast loaded with such amazing actors, this film packs up quite the punch. The sets and costumes are also great. Sure, like the play, the movie does not limit itself to the facts of Sade’s life. There are a lot of liberties taken but isn’t the Marquis the perfect subject matter for the taking of liberties. Quills is a very riveting exploration of such subjects as censorship, pornography, sex, art, and mental illness. I enjoyed this one very much, though it dragged a bit in a few places.

Rating: ««««

No comments:

Post a Comment