Sorry
It took me so long to finally see this film. Unfortunately it never opened locally,
but during my trip to ShoWest, I had the opportunity to see it. Quills is gaining
a lot of recognition, mostly because of Geoffrey Rush's well deserved Oscar nomination.
Quills
chronicles the later days of the Marquis de Sade. Now condemned to the Charenton
Asylum, the de Sade spends his days indulging his fantasies through writing. His
keeper, the Abbe Coulmier (played by Joaquin Phoenix), feels this is the best
form of therapy for the notorious intellectual. What the Abbe is unaware of is
that a sympathetic and pure laundress (played by Kate Winslet) is smuggling pages
from the de Sade's cell, and having his books published. This doesn't go over
well at all with ruler Napoleon who sends a doctor (played by Michael Caine) to
assist the Abbe in his treatment of this particular patient.
There
is a lot going on in Quills. It is, at the surface, a story about the first amendment,
and how words effect a certain group of people. At it's heart, however, this is
a story of forbidden passion and unrequited love.
Rush
is mesmerizing in the lead. He adds a deep complexity to a character that easily
could have been turned into outlandish camp. Winslet also fares well as the adventurous
yet sweet and innocent laundress who refuses to completely succomb to the de Sade's
wicked ways. Caine is completely ruthless as the unethical doctor who will do
anything to the demise of de Sade. Finally, I really thought that Pheonix was
outstanding. After watching his performance here, I can sadly say that the Academy
nominated him for the wrong film.
Philip
Kaufman is a masterful director. Before branching out on his own as a director,
he did much quality work with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. He sets the stage
quickly in Quills with an intense opening sequence, and maintains a certain darkness
that compliments the material. Although Doug Wright's screenplay is not without
it's obvious moments (most notably Phoenix's fate), I applaud this film for it's
look and stellar performances. Although I have yet to see Ed Harris' work in Pollock,
Rush barely nudges past Javier Bardem as my favorite of the Best Actor nominees
for this year's Academy Awards. This is a gutsy, uninhibited performance punctuated
by sly humor and a big dose of perversion. Quills is the "One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest" of the 1700's.
