Via. Plot: In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the Marquis de Sade manages to narrowly escape execution during the Reign of Terror, and instead is sentenced to the Charenton Asylum for the Insane. Coulmier, the priest who heads the asylum, is sympathetic to the political machinations that have put the Marquis in his care, and allows him not only to write what he pleases, but to stage theater pieces using the other patients as actors. Royer-Collard, a tyrannical doctor overseeing the mental institutions of Napoleonic France, is as outraged as the emperor when he reads Justine, a scabrous volume the Marquis penned while an inmate at Charenton, and he demands that de Sade be stopped. But Royer-Collard soon learns that stopping the Marquis from writing is not so simple; when de Sade's quills and ink are taken from him, he uses wine and even his own blood to write his stories. When these options are no longer available, he dictates his work with the help of Madeline, a laundry girl working at the asylum, who is fascinated by the notorious de Sade, though she declines his frequent requests to satisfy his notorious sexual appetites. Based on the play by Doug Wright (who also penned the screenplay), Quills was directed by Philip Kaufman, who previously documented the line between eroticism and literature in Henry and June and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Via.
Nicole's Rating: B+
Why She's Appalled Matt's Never Seen It: I originally gave this movie an A+, but I watched it again with Matt this weekend and changed my mind. I think thatmy only memory from this movie was Geoffrey Rush's performance (he plays the Marquis de Sade). So, while Rush still gets an A++, the movie as a whole falls a teensy bit flat. I still think it's up Matt's alley - 100% so and thats why I wanted him to see it. You can read what he thought below. Because that's what this blog is about. Duh.
Matt's Rating: B-
Matt's Review: I'm being generous here. I probably should have given Quills a "C" but Rush's performance raises the entire film up a little bit. Everything about Rush in this is awesome. He's crazy (but in a trapped genius sort of way), he is very sexual (his puns had me smiling non stop), and his part was beautifully written. Jaoquin Phoenix also gives a very good performance. In fact, most the acting is tremendous. However, the film itself never quiet reaches it's full potential. The fuckedupness of the film makes it "right up my alley" and I did enjoy that. Yet, once we get past the climax of the story (haha, get it...climax.....watch the movie people!) the film loses ALOT of its steam and the events seem borderline random, not emotionally driven, and contrived. It felt like the writers and film makers put so much into the first hour and 15 minutes they had nothing left to end the movie with. I didn't like the ending, mainly because it didn't make sense, and Rush's character dies. And since he carries the movie, his presence is greatly missed. There are a bunch of great scenes but as a whole movie, from beginning to end, its only slightly above average.
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