Quills

Title: Quills
Genre: Drama
Rating: 4/5
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine

As I was listening to "MCMXC a.D." by "Enigma" one time, I became inspired to check out this film. It's a reimagining of the life of "Marquis de Sade" and his last years at "Charenton", an insane asylum. Many things in this film are fabrications, but through his interactions with "Madeline", a laundress, "Abbé de Coulmier", the head of the asylum, and Dr. Royer-Collard, a doctor sent by "Napoleon" to silence "De Sade", we are introduced to themes such as sexuality, religion, mental illness, and censorship. All these combined to bring us a really clever yet scandalous film.

Without a doubt "de Sade" is one of the vilest men to have walked the face of the earth. This is a man that believes aristocrats have the right to kill and murder for their pleasure without being held up in charge for it. This is one of those cases where it's arguable the man is born evil! But why do we feel attracted to his character in this film? The main reasons are that he has been "tuned down" to fit the screen, not only for the mainstream. "Rush" and the director, "Philip Kaufman", decided to bring us this character in a way as rock star imprisoned in a fancy hotel, and some artist who is done wrong for trying to express himself. Although this representation is more inaccurate than accurate, I thoroughly enjoyed the macabre and flamboyant "Geoffrey Rush" tearing through this film. Te other actors also shined, even if as well their representations we're wrong. The doctor who appears to be against the morals "Sade" represents is in fact practicing them, such as the sadism employed in dealing with the patients. We feel that "Caine" was born to play the role. The abbé (Phoenix) is a perfect representation of how sexuality clashes with religion, although he is liberal with his inmates he still stands for certain morals, yet he is still human and awaits a gloomy ending. "Madeline" (Winslet) is a gullible laundress whom is an interest of both the abbé and the marquis. Her role perfectly shows us this conflict.

I enjoyed the direction here, especially the social commentary it had. As I noted, this isn't a biography on "De Sade" and the rest, but a tool to bring us what he seems fascinated by, I can imagine the director in many of the film's scenes. The atmosphere we are taken through is a mixture of madness, humor, macabre, and gloom. The soundtrack is thematic, and quiet strange at times. It did a good effect in mesmerizing us. I liked how the folk song "Au Clair de la Lune" was used. Although it's not in the soundtrack, we heard it sung by children at the beginning of the film and the marquis himself hummes it fro time to time. The script is devilishly clever in dealing with the film's themes. I thoroughly enjoyed the social commentary, especially in the dialogues. Although certain adjustments to historical facts were made to suite the film's motives, it didn't upset me much. The costume design and art direction was splendid; we easily lived in that time.

I highly recommend this film to all. I know I didn't cover certain things in my review, but this is because in order to say them I have to say some spoilers. "Rush" was nothing short of brilliant in this film, this is his best film ever! Just watching him direct that play or his conversation with the abbé is wickedly genius. Yes I didn't give it a full 5, but this is for some technicalities I won't bore you with. The film is entertaining, with a great mixture of darkness and light. The figure of the marquis was whitely used in order to raise the question, how far should liberal restrains reach?