Quills
Cast
The Abbé (Joaquin
Phoenix) and Madeleine LeClerc (Kate Winslet)
Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis
de Sade: The flamboyantly outrageous Marquis refuses to conform to the moral standards
of the day, making an enemy of Napoleon with his scandalous pornography and political
commentary. Director Philip Kaufman encouraged Rush to portray the Marquis as
something of a dissolute rock star holed up in the Ritz Carlton. Rush used Francine
Du Plessix Gray's 1998 biography At Home with the Marquis de Sade: A Life as a
reference and had previously acted in a production of Marat/Sade.
Kate Winslet
as Madeleine “Maddy” LeClerc: Feisty laundress Madeleine is the romantic
interest for both the Abbé and the Marquis. In love with the Abbé,
who refuses to reciprocate, she is fascinated by the Marquis and his intelligence
and experience. Screenwriter Doug Wright called Winslet the “patron saint”
of the movie for being the first big name to back it, expressing interest as early
as April 1999.
Joaquin Phoenix as the Abbé du Coulmier: The Abbé
du Coulmier is the well-loved administrator at Charenton asylum. A profoundly
religious man, he treats his wards with kindness and allows them to express themselves
artistically. Before settling on Joaquin Phoenix, casting directors considered
Jude Law, Guy Pearce, and Billy Crudup for the role.
Michael Caine as Doctor
Royer-Collard: Sent by Napoleon to silence the Marquis, Royer-Collard is the traditionalist
foil for the Abbé, though he proves as sadistic as the Marquis himself.
Kaufman drew comparisons between Royer-Collard and Kenneth Starr, particularly
the publication of de Sade's works at the Charenton Printing Press and the release
of Starr's report online.
Billie Whitelaw as Madame LeClerc: Madame LeClerc
is Madeleine's blind mother, a long-time employee of the asylum, whose blindness
resulted from long-time exposure to the lye of the laundry vats.
Stephen Marcus
as Bouchon: Bouchon is the inmate who molests Madeleine backstage during “The
Crimes of Love” and ultimately kills her during the climax of the film.
Amelia
Warner as Simone: Simone is Dr. Royer-Collard's child bride who elopes with architect
Prioux.
Stephen Moyer as Prioux: A promising architect sent by Napoleon to
renovate the Royer-Collard chateau, Prioux falls in love with Simone and runs
away with her.
Jane Menelaus as Renee Pelagie: Menelaus, Geoffrey Rush's real-life
spouse, is Renee Pelagie, the Marquis de Sade's long-suffering wife.
Patrick
Malahide as Delbené: Napoleon's most trusted advisor, Delbené is
responsible for sending Dr. Royer-Collard to Charenton.
Elizabeth Berrington
as Charlotte: A meddlesome chambermaid, Charlotte betrays Madeleine to Royer-Collard
and eventually becomes his lover and assistant at the Charenton Printing Press.
Tony Pritchard as Valcour: Charenton's prefect, Valcour performs much of the
physical work necessary at the asylum.
Michael Jenn as Cleante: Cleante is
a madman who thinks he is a bird. He stars in “The Crimes of Love” in
the Royer-Collard-inspired role of The Libertine and helps pass the Marquis' story
to Madeleine later in the film.
Quills is a 2000 period drama directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted from the Obie award-winning play by Doug Wright, who also wrote the original screenplay. Inspired by the life and work of the Marquis de Sade, Quills re-imagines the last years of the Marquis' incarceration in the insane asylum at Charenton. It stars Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis de Sade, Joaquin Phoenix as the Abbé du Coulmier, Michael Caine as Dr. Royer-Collard, and Kate Winslet as laundress Madeleine "Maddy" LeClerc.
Well-received by critics, Quills garnered numerous accolades for star Geoffrey Rush, including nominations for an Oscar and a Golden Globe. The film was a modest art house success, averaging $27,709 per screen its debut weekend, and eventually grossing $17,989,277 internationally. Cited by historians as factually inaccurate, 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.
Quills begins during the Reign of Terror, with the incarcerated Marquis de Sade (Geoffrey Rush) penning a story about the libidinous Mademoiselle Renare, an aristocrat who meets the preeminent sadist in her executioner.
The film resumes several years later with the Marquis confined to the asylum at Charenton, overseen by the enlightened Abbé du Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix). The Marquis has been publishing his work through laundress Madeleine "Maddy" LeClerc (Kate Winslet), who smuggles manuscripts through an anonymous horseman (Tom Ward) to a publisher. The Marquis' latest work, Justine, is published on the black market to great success. Napoleon (Ron Cook) orders all copies of the book burned and the author shot, but his advisor, Delbené (Patrick Malahide), tempers this contentious idea with one of his own: send traditionalist Doctor Royer-Collard (Michael Caine) to look in at Charenton and silence the Marquis.
Geoffrey
Rush as Marquis de SadeDr. Royer-Collard arrives, informing the Abbé that
the Marquis' "therapeutic writings" have been distributed for public
consumption. Horrified, the Abbé rejects Royer-Collard's offers of several
archaic "treatments" and asks to speak with the Marquis himself, who
promptly swears obedience (winking at Madeleine through a peephole). Royer-Collard
takes his leave for the time being and travels to the Panthemont Convent in Paris
to retrieve his promised bride, the underage Simone (Amelia Warner). They are
gifted a run-down chateau by the Emperor, with a handsome young architect, Prouix
(Stephen Moyer) on hand for its renovation.
The hasty marriage incites much gossip at the asylum, prompting the Marquis to write a farce to be performed at a public exhibition. The audacious play, titled "The Crimes of Love", is interrupted when the inmate Bouchon (British character actor Stephen Marcus) molests Madeleine off-stage, prompting her to hit him in the face with an iron. Royer-Collard shuts down the public theater and demands that the Abbé do more to control the Marquis. Infuriated, the Abbé confiscates the Marquis' quills and ink, prompting more subversive behavior, including a story written in blood on clothing. This results in further deprivation, eventually leaving the Marquis naked in an empty cell.
While this is occurring at the asylum, Simone has been violently introduced to the adult world by her husband. She unrepentantly purchases a copy of the Marquis de Sade's Justine, seduces Prioux, and the young lovers run off together. She leaves behind a letter explaining her actions and her copy of Justine. Upon finding this, Dr. Royer-Collard seizes on the Marquis as the source of his troubles and embarks upon a quest for revenge.
About to be sent away from Charenton for her role in assisting the Marquis, Madeleine begs a last story from him, which is to be relayed to her through the asylum patients. Bouchon, the inmate at the end of the relay, is excited by the story, breaks out of his cell, and kills Madeleine. The asylum is set afire by the pyromaniac Dauphin (George Yiasoumi) and the inmates break out of their cells.
Madeline's body is found by her blind mother in the laundry vat and Bouchon is captured and imprisoned inside an iron dummy. The Abbé blames the Marquis for Madeleine's death and prods him into a fury. The Marquis claims he had been with Madeleine in every way imaginable, only to be told she had died a virgin. The Abbé cuts out the Marquis' tongue as punishment for his involvement. The Marquis' health declines severely, though perverse as ever, he decorates his oubliette with a story, using feces as ink. As the Abbé finishes reading the last rites, he offers the Marquis a crucifix to kiss, which he swallows and chokes on, thus committing suicide.
A
year later, the new Abbé du Maupas (Alex Avery) arrives at Charenton and
is given the grand tour. The asylum has been converted into a printing press,
with the inmates as its staff. The books being printed are the works of the Marquis
de Sade. At the end of the tour, the new Abbé meets his predecessor, who
resides in the Marquis' old cell. Yearning to write, he begs paper and a quill
from the Abbé, who is herded off by Royer-Collard, now overseer of the
asylum. However, the peephole opens, and Madeleine's mother thrusts paper, quill,
and ink through. The Abbé begins to scribble furiously, with the Marquis
providing the narration.
Track listing
"The Marquis and
the Scaffold" – 3:08
"The Abbe and Madeleine" – 2:19
"The Convent" – 2:22
"Plans for a Burial" –
1:18
"Dream of Madeleine” – 4:42
"Royer-Collard and
Bouchon" – 4:15
"Aphrodisiac" – 2:59
"The
Last Story" – 7:35
"The Marquis' Cell at Charenton" –
4:38
"The End: A New Manuscript" – 7:32
"The Printing
Press" – 2:22
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