Quills (2000)

Directed by

Philip Kaufman

Genre

drama film, biographical film, romance film, erotic thriller, LGBTQ-related film

Country

Germany, United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

2h 04m

Rated

R

Rating

7.1 of 10 from 730 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film imagines the final years of the Marquis de Sade locked in an insane asylum. He continues writing provocative works which creates conflict with the facility's doctor and priest.

provocativetenseintellectualdarkly comicvisually lushunsettlingcerebralpassionate

What happens

Quills is a 2000 historical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted from the Obie award-winning 1995 play by Doug Wright, who also wrote the original screenplay. Inspired by the life of the Marquis de Sade, the film re-imagines the last years of the Marquis's incarceration in the insane asylum at Charenton. It stars Geoffrey Rush as de Sade, Kate Winslet as laundress Madeleine "Maddie" LeClerc, Joaquin Phoenix as the Abbé de Coulmier, and Michael Caine as Dr. Royer-Collard. Well received by critics, Quills garnered acclaim for its performances from Rush and Winslet and for its screenplay. The film received nominations for three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. The National Board of Review named it the Best Film of 2000. The Writers Guild of America awarded Doug Wright with the Paul Selvin Award. The film was a modest art house success, averaging $27,709 per screen its debut weekend, and eventually grossing $17,989,277 internationally. Noted for its artistic licenses, Quills filmmakers and writers said they were not making a biography of de Sade, but exploring issues such as censorship, pornography, sex, art, mental illness, and religion. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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