DVD The Affair of the Necklace
For all its earnest intrigue, historically accurate references, and elaborate set design, The Affair of the Necklace is best enjoyed as a comedy of Hollywood errors. The court of late-18th-century France is ruled by Marie Antoinette (Joely Richardson), whose confidence and favor is yearned for by Jeanne de la Motte-Valois (Hilary Swank), a young woman stripped of her title and orphaned at a young age. As flashbacks repeatedly remind the audience, Jeanne is essentially pure at heart even as she takes up with a court gigolo (Simon Baker) and enacts the intricate scheme from which the title is drawn. Soon embroiled in Jeanne's plan to win back her rightful place in the world are her avaricious husband of convenience, Nicolas (Adrien Brody); the soon-to-be-disposed-of Marie Antoinette; the salacious Cardinal Rohan (Jonathan Pryce); a necklace of questionable taste; and a host of other players. All the makings for a hilarious romp (à la Ridicule) are in place, but director Charles Shyer, with his lavish budget in tow, wants the film to be taken seriously. Only Christopher Walken, in a hilarious turn as the fraudulent soothsayer Count Cagliostro, sees through the facile script and relishes his part in what will no doubt prove a colossal flop. --Fionn Meade |
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Review(s): DVD The Affair of the Necklace | |
Despite the mixed reviews, after about 20 minutes, I began to enjoy this movie. It is more than it appears at first. It truly is an affair, because people are getting tricked and maneuvered, it has intrigue that unfolded lovely, having been placed right before the French Revolution.Hilary Swank, although not my top choice for a costume drama, does a good job of playing Jeanne de la Motte-Valois, a woman who lost her parents and her title at a young age. With the help of a court women-chaser, Baker, she uses the Cardinal's desire for Marie Antoinette, and the luxurious diamond necklace that comes into place, to get what she wants. As lies are told, and people pretending to be someone else, the grand plot begins to resemble a tower of playing cards that can topple at any moment. It was a wonderful movie, that felt cozy, and it was almost like a mystery drama, in beautiful lavish costumes. The ending is great, and unexpected for some characters.
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| TAKE HILARY TO THE PILLORY... |
This film is loosely based upon a true story. While Queen Marie Antoinette of France still held on to her head, she became embroiled in a scandal over a necklace. The scandal, in fact, contributed to the rise of the French Revolution and the demise of the monarchy in France.The leading jewelers of the day, Charles Boehmer and Paul Bassenge, had wanted Marie Antoinette to buy an elaborate and very expensive, multi-looped diamond necklace, weighing approximately 2800 carats. This necklace, which had six hundred and forty seven diamonds, had purportedly been designed for Madame Du Barry, the mistress of Marie Antoinette's father-in-law, the late King Louis XV, and a woman she despised. Marie Antoinette was not at all interested in this necklace and made herself quite clear to the somewhat desperate jewelers, who had invested much of their capital in this necklace. In the film, a young woman, Jeanne St. Remy de Valois (Hilary Swank), who called herself a Countess by virtue of her marriage of convenience to a certain rake, Nicolas de La Motte (Adrien Brody), wanted to get back her father's estates, which had been taken by the crown after he had been, she believed, wrongfully executed for his perceived political beliefs. She was obsessed with righting this wrong and regaining her family's lost honor. When she was unable to secure that which she so desired, she took up with a court gigolo, Retaux de Vilette (Simon Baker). With his assistance, she concocted an elaborate scheme, rife with political intrigues, and secured possession of the notorious diamond necklace under the ostensible color of Queen Marie Antoinette's authority. This theft ultimately came to light, and she and her cohorts were arrested in this matter, although the necklace was never recovered. This would lead to a sensational trial, because her accused accomplice in the matter was none other than Cardinal Louis Constantin de Rohan (Jonathan Pryce), a prince of France. The film, woodenly directed by Charles Shyer, centers around the character, Jeanne. Unfortunately, Hilary Swank is unable to carry the day. Her portrayal of Jeanne is one dimensional. She also seques back and forth between her obvious American accent and a pseudo-British one. To sum up her performance in a nutshell, it is sub-par. An otherwise excellent actress, she is simply out her element in this period film, because she is unable to overcome her contemporary veneer. Of course, as she is the centerpiece of the film and fails, so does the film, no matter how well meaning the endeavor. Of course, she had help, as the script has its problems. There is very little tension for a film that is about one of the greatest thefts ever conceived. Not even the delicious performance of Jonathan Pryce, as the dissolute Cardinal de Rohan, can overcome some of the fundamental flaws in this film. Still, there are some intriguing moments in the film, and those who enjoy period pieces and historical dramas may get a modicum of enjoyment viewing it.
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There is an old saying in theater that instructs you not to "put a gun onstage in the first act if it is not going to go off in the second". By the same turn, do not introduce Christopher Walken into your movie unless you are going to send your script up on itself a little. Jonathan Pryce, Adrien Brody, and Walken all hit the right demi-tragic, mostly comic, tone, as do the minor characters. Everyone else, though, seems to have shown up thinking that they had been cast in "The Hours." "The Affair of the Necklace" has to be viewed with a generous suspension of disbelief, or with one's forehead protected for a lot of flat-palming. Ninette's final, "If I reached for anything that shown brightly..." speech- which is a bit too Shirley Temple for the rest of the movie- actually diminishes our sympathies for her and cuts the film's last thread of realism. Marie Antoinette's sub-guillotine, "well, maybe I was a bit excessive," flashback, is also a little inexplicable given the modern frame of the movie. Only on Google groups does one still find such negative and simplistic representations of her. And Louis XVI was more fully encompassed in "Start the Revolution Without Me". The scenery, however, especially at Versailles, is fantastic and- though I have doubts about the wisdom of Swank's "Annie"-style hair on the cover (given her character's orphaned status)- the movie generally fits in well with other flawless, high-end costume dramas. If it hadn't been "based on true events," a tag which subjects a movie to a greater deal of scrutiny than most can stand, I would have thought this one much stronger than it was. In the end, Pryce, Brody, and Walken do save the movie from itself, and generally make it an entertaining, if not accurate, weekend rental. As an addition to one's video library, however, it is best passed on.
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