Rating: 
Summary: beautiful and haunting.
Review: This movie is loosely based on the life of the novelist marquis de sade, a man whose name inspired the word "sadism." that reveals something about sade's character right away. so DO NOT expect a lighthearted flick about a randy old man! this movie is way dark and graphic. it's rated R for a reason so if you can't handle nudity, violence, and really depressing sex, turn away and don't say i didn't warn you.THE PLOT
marquis de sade (rush), a french author of graphically perverse S&M novels, is imprisioned inside Charenton, an asylum for the mentally ill. charenton is run by the happy, constantly grinning abbe de coulmiers (phoenix), who thinks that it's good for sade to write his smut to cleanse his mind, as long as they don't get published. but he doesn't know that the raunchy, yet innocent chambermaid (winslet) is smuggling the marquis's chapters out of the asylum with the laundry. the books quickly wind their way to the publishers, where they become huge bestsellers. even napoleon gets hold of the latest copy and becomes thoroughly disgusted with the content. a doctor, royers-collard (caine) is sent to charenton to cure the marquis of his "madness." r.c. is known for employing torture techniques to cure his patients, such as dunking them in brackish water, or putting them in isolation. with r.c.'s coming, the (relatively) jolly days of the marquis at the asylum are over. the movie, which started out darkly funny and kinky, filled with innuendo and bantering, now just becomes dark. madeleine the chambermaid is discovered to be smuggling the manuscripts, and sade's ink and quills are taken away. sade begins to grow desperate, and is eventually forced to use his own blood and excrement to write. coulmiers is torn between his feelings for the church, his unusual friendship with sade, the repulsion he has for sade's writing, and his love (?) or lust for madeleine. then r.c's wife gets a hold of sade's writing, which fuels her on to elope with her lover. r.c's anger with sade is now personal and he makes SURE sade cannot write. but sade will not give up. because he has been deprived of all writing utensils, madeleine thinks of a genius way for him to "write" another novel. but the power of sade's words turn the "writing session" into a horrid fiasco... in fact, the climax of the movie is SO depressing and shocking (the scene with the bleeding crucifix) that the weird and predictable ending is actually liberating and satisfying. let me just say no one came out of this movie smiling. THE ACTORS
Geoffrey Rush: whoever chose russell crowe over him at the oscars needs to be smacked in the head. rush doesn't need to swing big swords around to prove his worth. all he needs is a quill... i can go on and on about his acting and his grace, even when he's been stripped of everything (and i mean EVERYTHING) he has. he isn't playing marquis de sade. he IS marquis de sade.
joaquin phoenix: whoa. emotional overload there. all those conflicting emotions that bombard him can be seen in those green eyes. his emotional spiral downward is WAY intense, and yet 100% believable. the scenes with madeleine made my stomach flip so many times. (plus, he's hot.)
kate winslet: after watching this movie, i've become a fan of hers. she portrays madeleine as a girl with many facets. madeleine isn't just a "virginal chambermaid." she keeps a flirty but platonic relationship with sade, she doesn't sleep around yet she devours sade's smut. she has a real affection for coulmiers, and yet she wants to run away with the horseman. kate makes madeleine a character who possesses all the virtues and vices of a real girl, not a 1 dimensional side character.
michael caine: royers-collard was so evil. so evil. i wanted to punch the tv at the end of the movie. then i wanted to hug michael caine for doing such a good job. the funny man in miss congeniality he ain't. THE DVD
eh. the special features were so-so. the regular stuff. the commentary, the featurette, the trailers. but you're buying this movie for the MOVIE not the special features, i'm assuming. OVERALL
five stars!! this is a brilliant piece of moviemaking. good dialogue, good actors, good plot. best movie i've seen in a long time. if you want a dark, sharply humourous, shocking, deep, (a little) romantic, sexy, and emotional gut wrenching ride, then watch quills. this movie is not a biography. it's very fictionalized. so please remember, "this is a work of FICTION. not a moral treatise."
Rating: 
Summary: ABYSMAL, FRAUDULENT
Review: I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy in movies, but Quills is outrageous in its misrepresentation of its subject, the Marquis DeSade; for a movie that is ostensibly about the limits of free expression, director/writer Phil kaufmann commits the unpardonable crime of substituting his own words for DeSades when the author's works are quoted on screen. When bits of "Justine" or "Juliette" are read, we hear innocuous, harmless erotica reminiscent of Jon Lovitz's "Tales of Ribaldry" skit from Saturday Night Live. DeSade's works are like the diaries of a serial killer -- designed to test limits and make us uncomfortable. Read aloud in a movie, the MPAA would slap the film with a NC-17. Kaufmann turns DeSade into an 18th century Russ Meyer -- harmless. The movie is utterly pointless, the work of a coward unwilling to face up to the rtue implications of his subject.
Rating:
Summary: Gothic Masterpiece
Review: "There is such beauty and such abomination in each of us," says the abbe (Joaquin Phoenix) to the Marquis (Geoffrey Rush) at the end of "Quills". The abbe seems to sum up the theme of the film in many ways. This brilliant Philip Kaufmann film has everything you would want in a classic Gothic novel like "The Monk", "Melmoth the Wanderer" or one of the atrocity-ridden catalogues of blasphemous filth penned by the Marquis himself, like "The 120 Days of Sodom." Here is a sampling of some of the images: -The madhouse becomes chaos as the inmates take over the asylum -Vast texts are written in blood and excrement -Two tongues are violently severed from the heads of their owners -A priest makes love to the corpse of his beloved on a church altar while the eyes of the Christ shed tears of blood -The Marquis swallows a crucifix in order to commit suicide by choking (God, what irony!)
But "Quills" is more than a mere Gothic shocker--it is a deeply humanist film that resonates with an important question (for which, of course, the film itself offers no pat answer): To what degree is the artist responsible for actions which his/her work might inspire in impressionable minds? Of course most of the people who would be attracted to this type of film in the first place would be likely to give the knee-jerk "free speech must be protected at all costs" answer(You know, the ones who wear Jello Biafra "No More Censorship" tee shirts). You come away from this film less sure about that. Don't confuse Geoffrey Rush's Marquis with the real Marquis de Sade. Rush presents us a person who has, in the end, a tremendous heart underneath a facade of ebullient insensitivity and coldness. When the abbe tells him, at the end, that Maddie died a virgin Rush breaks down, the facade crumbles, and he tearfully implores the abbe to ensure that her sweet, innocent body is given a proper burial in a churchyard. This is one of the most emotionally powerful scenes to appear in film in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: And also...
Review: A very compelling reason to see this movie on DVD is the behind-the-scenes commentary on the filming of the movie by the writer Doug Wright.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This movie is excellent.Geoffrey Rush is perfect in his role as the twisted writer "Marquis de Sade".One minute you love him, the next you hate him, the next you feel sorry for him.Kate Winslet is amazing as well.She adds so much passion and complexity to what would have been a simple, forgettable role from someone else.This movie is different from anything else I've seen, and I'm sure it'll be unique even for those who have viewed more ecletic films."Quills" is dark,moody,dramatic,tragic,yet luciously entertaining at the same time.The whole movie flashes by you in what seems like 5 minutes.All in all, it's an excellent film, with a stunning plot, and performances that are sure to knock you off your feet.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark, Erotic, Brilliant Acting
Review: Geoffrey Rush has to be seen to be believed in this movie. It's his career performance, even better than his award winning role in Shine. His acting embodies the Marquis de Sade, a 19th century French nobleman psychopath who also happened to be a prolific author. Not an author of classics, but of violent and disturbing erotica. Of course, that kind of material was a big hit in a morally repressed France, much to the consternation of the French rulers. The movie begins with de Sade locked up in an insane asylum. His work, though, continues to be smuggled to the outside, where it offends even Napoleon himself. The Emperor orders a investigation and imperial oversight of the asylum and de Sade. The story is very interesting, as de Sade and his imperial overseer, played expertly by Michael Caine, engage in a match of cat and mouse. It seems no matter what measures are taken, the nefarious author continues to be published. The duel between them goes to new levels, as both men take their shots at each other. Mixed up in the game between the two men is two young people. One is the spiritual leader of the asylum, played intensely by Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix shows us why he is one of the most promising young stars on the scene today. His role is very intriguing, as he is a very conflicted man. On one hand, he loves his patients and treats them fairly, but he is very disturbed by the action of the Marquis. He is also sexually frustrated, as he is in love with the young laundress, Kate Winslet. Winslet has fallen into a strange kind of relationship with the Marquis, and she smuggles out his perverted manuscripts. She also delivers a solid performance. The costumes and the gloomy setting are very effective, as is the plot. It's just a great story and a fine example of modern acting. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: it's like sade meets shakespeare
Review: I haven't seen the play of Quills, nor have I read Doug Wright's script for the play, but this movie is one that my wife and I both adore. A certain interest in Sade brought us into the movie, but the dramatic elements of the film kept us engaged. One of Joaquin Phoenix's best roles as far as I'm concerned and a movie that manages to mix serious questions on the nature of art with a wicked sense of humor. It's amazing.
Rating:
Summary: a magnificent breakthrough for Rush, Winslet and Phoenix
Review: Quills will not only stun you with its amazing brilliance and beauty...it will take you on an impure journey through the mind and writings of the infamous Marquis de Sade. Geoffrey Rush (as the Marquis), Kate Winslet (as the laundry maid Madeleine), Joaquin Phoenix (as Coulmier the Charenton Asylum's resident priest) and Michael Caine (as the doctor) deliver top-notch performances in this provocative tale filled with erotic passion, desire, and true love. Quills contains strong sexual content (including dialogue), violence and language. Definitely not for the younger audience. I highly reccomend Quills, probably one of the best dramas out there.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful acting on the part of Geoffrey Rush!!
Review: Story line not for everyone due to the sex and violence but the actors in this movie are great!!!Especially Rush and Phoenix and don't let me leave out Winslet!!I loved it!!!!
Rating:
Summary: its not perfect but still quite solid
Review: this was one of the movies that grew on me as i watched it more and more. the performances are great by everyone including joaquin pheonix who is usually rubbish. the colour scheme gets on your nerves after a while with the green pallette used for almost the entire film. and i also thought that it could have been a lot heavier. it was a bit too light however, it was quite funny at some points and now i find it really enjoyable to watch. its not "barry lyndon" but i decided to give it 4 stars because it has a lot of nice shots and the story grabs u most of the time. also i think this is the only period film with the f word in it. the script is well written and kaufman seems to know what he is doing. not a bad one overall but i still wouldnt give it 5 stars
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