The Popkorn Junkie

     I'll admit it...before I saw "Quills" I knew nothing about the Marquis de Sade. I kept asking people to see this film with me but most of them cringed at the offer and muttered something about "Justine." Because of my being not only a Popkorn Junkie but a Joaquin Junkie as well I knew I had to go, even if it meant by myself. It's funny, most of the people in the audience were alone....I soon would find out why (it's kind of a dirty movie but not shocking or anything....it's intelligently dirty).

      "Quills" is about the notoriously perverted author the Marquis de Sade and his life while imprisoned in a mental institute. Geoffrey Rush plays the Marquis and does an excellent job portraying the character. He delivers his often devilishly loaded lines with precision....there are so many deliciously naughty innuendos in the script that I felt a little guilty taking pleasure in them. Anyway, the institution (that is the Marquis' prison) is run by the good natured and totally gorgeous Abbe Coulmier, played by Joaquin Phoenix (that's how the "totally gorgeous" part fits in). The Abbe encourages the Marquis to write because the Abbe feels it is a sort of therapy (he is a real forward thinker considering the times)...if the Marquis can expel the pornography from his mind perhaps he might become cured of his illness. Unfortunately the Marquis devises a plan to smuggle his writings out to the general public (which later on gets the Abbe in trouble and leads to the Marquis' demise). Kate Winslet (my Hollywood body image hero) plays the part of Madeline, a laundry girl who steals the heart of both the Marquis and the Abbe and helps the Marquis with his publishing.

      The main story in the film involves the little love triangle going on between the Marquis, Madeline, and the Abbe but the subplot involves Micheal Caine's character, the evil Dr. Royer-Collard (a far cry from the lovable Dr. Larch he played in "The Cider House Rules"). Dr. Royer-Collard is sent to oversee the Abbe and the mental institution, however, unlike the Abbe the Dr. feels that patients will only get better if they are physically and mentally tortured (yeah, that makes sense....whatever). Anyway, I won't give away any more of the plot or the climactic ending....you'll have to give in and see "Quills" for yourself!

     This film is passionate and at some parts a little raunchy... mostly in an intelligent and sometimes almost poetic way but the cast is what makes this film a "must see". Rush and Winslet have a great chemistry together and they clearly enjoy the many chances they have to make plays on words. Phoenix burns the screen up whenever he's on as he captures the tortured feelings of a priest who must struggle with his heart and his duty.

      Recommendation: If you like "art-house" type movies, delicious innuendos, or any of the cast members you will take great pleasure in watching this film. But don't feel guilty...it's just a movie!

-- Patsy ( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )

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