Quills

Released 2000
Stars Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, Amelia Warner
Directed by Philip Kaufman

Count Donatien-Alphonse-François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade, lived from 1740 until 1814, although his infamous reputation has survived for nearly two centuries since his remains were scattered. (His name lies at the root of the word "sadism".) For most of his adult life, the Marquis was in and out of prison, as his penchant for deviant sexual behavior (which typically included torture) continually put him at odds with the law. Following the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, he was incarcerated in the Charenton Asylum for the Insane, where he resided for a year. After his release, he spent approximately a decade writing scandalous manuscripts and putting on plays before his activities once again landed him at Charenton, where he spent the rest of his life.

Quills, although a fictionalized account of the Marquis' last years, is moderately faithful to the historical record. The characterization of the title character, despite being softened to make the man bearable to a mainstream audience, captures some of Sade's essence. As portrayed by the energetic Geoffrey Rush in a brilliant turn that avoids the easy path of caricaturization, Sade is a shrewd, dangerous man with an intelligence that is matched in magnitude by his perverse sexual desires.

Summary by James Berardinelli

"Quills" is not for the faint of heart. It's a bold film that left me feeling dirty and repulsed, but I give it thumbs up. I appreciate anything today that's willing to do something that's not mainstream, and this is definitely not mainstream. It takes an immensely ugly character and cleans him up just enough to not completely repulse us. Then it builds a mostly fictional story around the Marquis that explores art and its effects on people.

It's completely different than what I expected. Generally, the Marquis would be the hero, and we'd watch him valiantly thwart the villainous doctor's attempts to break him. Although the Marquis never allows himself to be broken, he is crushed by the doctor. Although he's able to strike at the doctor a few times, he loses everything he loves. Since the Marquis is a sadist (by definition), I expected him to savor the doctor's tortures. But the Marquis is a sadist, not a masochist. In other words, he enjoys inflicting pain, but not receiving it. This was an interesting twist. I was also surprised to only see one torture scene inflicted upon the Marquis by the doctor. I thought it was going to be a major theme, but it mostly happened off camera and was barely acknowledged. One thing I didn't like, however, was the ending. I hated the Abbe du Coulmier's fate. He was an honest, compassionate man who successfully struggled with his desires, and it didn't ring true for him to meet this fate. --Bill Alward, January 4, 2002