Quills

If you were asked "What is your favorite Geoffrey Rush moive?", how would you respond? The House On Haunted Hill? Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl? How about Finding Nemo? It's a tought choice, right? Well, to help make your decision even more difficult, consider Phillip Kaufman's Quills.

Geoffrey Rush takes the lead role in this fact-based film about a craized writer named Marquis De Sade. Napoleon Bonaparte sentenced Marquis to prison for his inapropriate writings and Marquis ended up in Charenton, an insane asylum run by The Abbe du Coulmier, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Of course the asylum cannot stop Marquis from publishing his writings as he continues to sneak his work out of the asylum through means of a laundry maid played by Kate Winslet. When he finds out that Marquis' writings are still being published, Napoleon sends in a doctor of sorts, played by Michael Caine, to handle the situation.

This film has a lot going for it: a good director, a good script, and a very talented cast that can definitely do something like this. The end result? A very risqué drama that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go. Kaufman is really passionate about this story and it comes through in his script and direction as each character developes tremendously throughout the course of the film. Of course this film is star studded and with actors like Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, and Michael Caine, it's hard not to have character development.

This film flows smoothly. There are not a whole bunch of random cuts that don't make any sense. The story is seamless and it is easy to follow along, which makes any movie more enjoyable. When a movie flows smoothly it makes it easier to notice other details because you're not sitting there wondering what in the world is going on. For instance, with everything flowing smoothly, Geoffrey Rush's Oscar nominated preformance stands out more.

As I said before, this movie is very risqué; it definitely earns its R rating. So if you are uncomfortable with male nudity and the talk of certain bodily functions, then this may not be the movie for you. Also, the supposed love triangle in this film does not feel as strong as it could, though the idea of a love triangle in this film makes things more interesting, it isn't very effective.

With all that said, this movie is a very enthralling; once you start it, you will definitely finish it. Phillip Kaufman has done a good job with this movie, it is very well made, and all the preformances bring this film to a whole other level.

See this film.