Geoffrey Rush
Kate Winslet
Joaquin Phoenix
Michael Caine
directed by
Philip Kaufman
It is quite easy for serious filmgoers to get excited over the
new drama Quills. For one, it is the first piece of cinema with substance Hollywood has
churned out of late and, second, it marks the return of director Philip Kaufman, the
man responsible for two of the best films of the 1980s if not of all time; The Right Stuff and
The Unbearable Lightness Of Being.
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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