The Affair of the Necklace (2001)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Charles Shyer

Writer (WGA):

John Sweet (written by)

Release Date:

30 November 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

This summer, one woman wins.....

Plot:

In pre-Revolutionary France, a young aristocratic woman left penniless by the political unrest in the country, must avenge her family's fall from grace by scheming to steal a priceless necklace.

Plot Keywords:

Necklace | Cardinal | Diamond | Marie Antoinette | Historical

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Hilary Swank	...	Jeanne St. Remy de Valois
Jonathan Pryce	...	Cardinal Louis de Rohan
Simon Baker	...	Rétaux de Vilette
Adrien Brody	...	Count Nicolas De La Motte
Brian Cox	...	Minister Breteuil
Joely Richardson	...	Marie-Antoinette
Christopher Walken	...	Count Cagliostro
Hayden Panettiere	...	Young Jeanne
Simon Kunz	...	Minister of Titles
Paul Brooke	...	Monsieur Bohmer
Peter Eyre	...	Monsieur Bassenge
Frank McCusker	...	Abel Duphot
Simon Shackleton	...	Louis XVI
Hermione Gulliford	...	Nicole Leguay d'Oliva
Geoffrey Hutchings	...	President D'Aligre

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:R (certificate #38526) | Iceland:12 | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Alincourt, Ardennes, France

Company:

Alcon Entertainment

Trivia:

In the 1938 film Marie Antoinette (1938), Norma Shearer refused any complimentary make-up for the final scene showing her character going to the guillotine. She wanted to look as haggard and exhausted as the real queen had in her final moments. In the final scene for this movie, Joely Richardson expressed the same effects as she tried to convey as her reflection can be viewed in the water bucket beside guillotine before the beheading.

Quotes:

Jeanne St. Remy de Valois: In the eyes of God and the world, I wanted my life to be as it should have been.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Le Réjouissance - Allegro

Dispassionate waste of film

I love period dramas. I love the costumes, the sets, the horses, the street scenes. I love the fact that maybe I can learn a little bit about history along with being entertained. So it was with hope that I rented this movie even though it had only been in the theater two days and there were only two copies of it at Blockbuster (both bad signs). I understand now why no one had wanted anything to do with it from the beginning.

This film simply did not click. There was nothing in it that made me interested in or care about the protagonists. The main fault should go to the casting director who terribly miscast Hillary Swank as an 18th century French noblewoman. Don't get me wrong, I do like Hillary and have recently praised her depiction of the young cop in "Insomnia", but in "The Affair" she was like a fish out of water, too angular, too wooden and quite obviously a modern American actress faking an English accent depicting a French character.

Then we must blame the director, because the sense of tension in this film was minimal. This was a movie about a court intrigue where the stakes were huge both monetarily and punitively. Much more passion should have been injected, more fear, more highs, more lows, intense love and ferocious hate, anything to get the viewer engaged. That this was not done was unfortunate, because the film has a beautiful look to it and the sets and costumes do not disappoint.