Quills
Do not be
afraid Carry On fans. Yes it may be some time since Carry On Emmanuelle
(thank Christ) and the spectre of Carry On Colombus need never not darken
our memories ever again. That said the spirit of the Carry On films is
still alive. Odd that the original troupe never thought of doing a Carry
On Maquis De Sade, but if they had I daresay it would have turned out much
like at least the first half of Quills. Repleat with Kate Winslett as a
later day incarnation of Joan Sims.
Quills purports
to be the story of the last days of the Maquis De Sade, eminent porn writer
and all round letch. It is probably about as historically accurate as Carry
On Columbus was, and whilst the film drips with period trappings it is
quite clear that this is the case. The plot is just too neat to actually
be real, and while it may borrow facts from life we are in the realms of
fantasy here. And what a bawdy fantasy it is too. Repleat with hissable
villains (Michael Caine finding a perfect role in which to do his Scrooge
from a Muppets Christmas Carol again) and comely wenches (Winslett again).
It also gives Geoffrey Rush the perfect opportunity to camp it up mercilessly
as De Sade.
The plot
is simple. De Sade has been committed to an asylum, mainly due to his wife’s
embarrassment at his lewd writing. He continues to write though, slipping
his pages out via the maid where the books continue to cause a scandal
in Paris. Napoleon (short arsed cameo at the beginning from Ken Stott which
tells you exactly the tone of the flick) sends Michael Caine’s physician
to take over from the kind hearted Joaquim Pheonix in the asylum. What
follows is a battle of wits between Rush and Caine, with Winslett and Pheonix’s
forbidden love in the centre. And lots of very rude jokes.
The themes
of the film are dual - that of passion and censorship. Pheonix’s Abbé
cannot allow himself to fall in love, yet he lusts after Winslet’s maid.
Caine sees De Sade’s writing as filth to be stopped. De Sade is played
as an almost compulsive writer. He must get this stuff out of his system,
which later leads to tragedy. Indeed the whole piece is a bit stagey, a
bit convenient even to the almost apocalyptic ending. Based on a stage
play, the writing is everything here. And the film manages to both be very
funny, then turn to tragic horror whilst still conveying its perhaps a
touch too po-faced messages. That said, what more can you ask but for decent
acting, to a decent script with some interesting ideas to underlie the
whole thing. Well some people have asked for historical accuracy - but
what price that?
Quills is
a bawdy period romp, the type not seen in the cinema since probably The
Madness Of King George. Like that film it has an exemplary script from
a stage play, and the director here has tried to open it out a touch. We
get much more from the set pieces, and the grand tragic ending is played
out well. But this is pretty much an actors movie, and you get four excellent
if very different actors giving their all. Rush over-eggs the pudding,
whilst Caine does what he does best - underact. Pheonix and Winslett are
the heart of the film though, the forbidden lovers whose tragedy is played
out to the backdrop of De Sade’s battle - and both are great to watch.
I was thoroughly exhilarated by Quills, at turns fun and strangely moving.
Stagey and trite it may be in places, but it is also pretty good. (8)
IF THIS
FILM WAS A CAR CRASH: Carry On Henry smashes right into Shakespeare In
Love, whilst taking a serious note from The Madness Of King George - and
a plot point from Fahrenheit 451.
