Movie of the Week: Quills

"Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism, there you have me in a nutshell.... Kill me again or take me as I am, for I shall not change." — Marquis de Sade, Last Will and Testament

This week's movie of the week is Quills.

The infamous writer, The Marquis de Sade of 18th Century France, is imprisoned for unmentionable activities at Charanton Insane Asylumn. He manages to befriend the young Abbe de Coulmier, who run's the asylumn, along with a beautiful laundress named Madeline. Things go terribly wrong when the Abbe finds out that the Marquis' books are being secretly published. Emperor Napolean contemplates sending Dr. Royer-Collard to oversee the asylumn, a man famed for his torturous punishments. It could mean the end of Charanton and possibly the Marquis himself.

Watch the Quills Trailer Here:


Fun Trivia~
The genuine model head cast from the real Marie Antoinette (and on loan from Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London) is in the basket of aristocratic victims.

During the play presented by the inmates of Charenton, a mask can be seen in the backstage area. Made of leather and fitted with goggles and a birdlike beak, this   mask is identical to the one worn by Robert Downey Jr.'s character in Restoration (1995).

The tune that the Marquis 'de Sade' keeps humming throughout the film is the French children's song "Au Clair de la Lune", the second line of which becomes increasingly relevant - roughly translated, it is "lend me your quill so I can write a word".

Every single line from the script that was cut made it into the film either written on 'de Sade' 's clothing, the bed sheets or in his prison cell at the end.

All the rosaries that appear in the film are made out of chocolate.

Fun Quotes~
Coulmier: It's nothing but an encyclopedia of perversions. One man killed his wife after reading them.
Marquis de Sade: It's a fiction, not a moral treatise.

Renee Pelagie: Can I impart to you his cruellest trick.
Dr. Royer-Collard:Of course.
Renee Pelagie: Once, long ago in the folly of youth, he made me love him.

Simone: Sign it quickly, then you can ravish me again on the linens for which he so dearly paid.
Prouix, the Architect:  
And then, I beg you, on the bearskin rug in his study. And finally, as a crowning gesture, we'll leave puddles of love on the Peruvian marble.

Coulmier: It's not even a proper novel. It's nothing but an encyclopedia of perversions. Frankly, it even fails as an exercise in craft. The characters are wooden, the diologue is inane. Not to mention the repetition of words like "nipple" and "pikestaff".
Marquis de Sade: There I was taxed; it's true.

My Quills Wallpaper:



Great movie, Geoffrey Rush is amazing. Four stars.
Becca