Synopsis
A nobleman with a literary flair, the Marquis de Sade lives in a madhouse where a beautiful laundry maid smuggles his erotic stories to a printer, defying orders from the asylum's resident priest. The titillating passages whip all of France into a sexual frenzy, until a fiercely conservative doctor tries to put an end to the fun.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Geoffrey RushMarquis de Sade
- Kate WinsletMadeleine LeClerc
- Joaquin PhoenixAbbe du Coulmier
- Michael CaineDr. Royer-Collard
- Billie WhitelawMadame LeClerc
- Patrick MalahideDelbené
- Amelia WarnerSimone
- Jane MenelausRenee Pelagie
- Stephen MoyerProuix
- Tony PritchardValcour
- 90
Rolling Stone
A savage comedy of sexual extremes; the barbed laughs draw blood. - 90
Washington Post
Profane, sacrilegious, pornographic, sadistic and Sade-istic, titillating and the most honorable movie of the year. - 80
The New York Times
Occasionally becomes pretentious and shrill -- sometimes Mr. Wright isn't aware that his material is so good that he doesn't need to comment on his characters. - 80
Village Voice
Kaufman's earnestly overblown celebration of the Marquis de Sade. - 80
Film.com
The dialogue is sparkingly witty, and Phoenix and Winslet are excellent in what are, after all, meant to be fairly one-dimensional roles. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
Rush is amazing throughout this absorbing, provocative film. - 70
Washington Post
Rush is too sinfully good for the drama he's in. - 67
Entertainment Weekly
Quills bleaches the danger -- and fascination -- out of De Sade, turning him into a kind of mad saint of ''Masterpiece Theatre'' porn.