A movie filled with intelligence, brilliant acting and some wicked jabs of dark humor, Quills is a tour-de-force of filmmaking that will stay with you for quite some time. Based on the stage play by Doug Wright, Quills takes place at the turn of the 18th Century in France. The Marquis De Sade (Geoffrey Rush) spends the remaining days of his life inside a mental institution called Charenton, where he furiously writes away with quills and parchment his tales of graphic sexual perversity. Thanks to a virginal linen girl named Madeleine (Kate Winslet) who smuggles his writing out of the asylum for him, his work is all the rage on the streets of Paris. It certainly isn't the rage (but certainly evokes a great deal of rage) with the country's authorities, which send the hypocritical Dr Royer-Collard (Michael Caine) to Charenton to "cure" Sade of his wicked ways.

Despite Royer-Collard's harsh treatment (ones that, at times, ironically border on the sadistic) and his removal of the Marquis' precious writing instruments, Sade continues to write his tales with anything he can use as ink, be it wine, blood or faeces. He continues to defy the powers that be despite the fact that his world and his sanity are crumbling around him.

As he showed with 1988's The Unbearable Lightness Of Being and 1990's Henry & June, Philip Kaufman knows how to balance drama, dark comedy and eroticism rather well. The story may revolve around Sade, but it's underlying themes concern the battle for free speech and how some artists will go to extreme and sometimes fatal lengths in order to be heard (or in this case, read). Kaufman's skillful handling of Doug Wright's smart screenplay envelops the viewer into both the proceedings and the time era. Only the denouement, which shows what happens to the asylum and its tormented abbé, Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix), tends to drag the film out, if only slightly. As with Kaufman's other films, the cast is first rate. Geoffrey Rush plays Sade with an energy level so strong it could run a subway car. It is a showy role to be sure, but Oscar winner Rush knows when to pull in the reins when need be, and brings us a performance that should not be forgotten come Oscar time this year. Kate Winslet is equally impressive as Madeline, the beautiful young woman who is set free from her dreadful life by reading Sade's wicked tales. Her nicely nuanced performance proves yet again that she is one of the best young actresses working in film today (and that she was the real star of "that boat film"). Joaquin Phoenix, hot off his solid turn in Gladiator, is also excellent as Coulmier, while Michael Caine turns in a fun (and creepy) turn as the sadistic doctor of the asylum. Each of these thespians work well off of each other and manage not to overshadow each other (quite an accomplishment especially with the screen presence of Rush).

I am not sure how you feel about the Marquis De Sade or his work. Personally, his work struck me as nothing more than an 18th century version of a Penthouse magazine letter. But whether you like or loathe his work, or appreciate it's historical and literary value or would prefer to see it banned forever, those who appreciate well-crafted and wickedly sly cinema should make Quills required viewing.

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