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Movies / On DVD / The Affair of the Necklace
The Affair of the Necklace

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The Affair of the Necklace (2001)

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Reviews Counted:19

Fresh:5

Rotten:14

Average Rating:4.5/10

Consensus: A film about court intrigue, The Affair of the Necklace turns out to be more dull than juicy. Swank seems flat and miscast in the central role of Jeanne.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some sexuality

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 30, 2001 Limited

Synopsis: This tale of intrigue and corruption is based on a true account of 18th Century French noblewoman Jeanne de la Motte-Valois (played by Oscar-winner Hilary Swank), whose family has been dispossessed... This tale of intrigue and corruption is based on a true account of 18th Century French noblewoman Jeanne de la Motte-Valois (played by Oscar-winner Hilary Swank), whose family has been dispossessed of status and title by the king. To restore honor to her name, not to mention reclaim her family estate, Jeanne must have her lineage officially authenticated at the court of Versailles. After several unsuccessful attempts to obtain an audience with Marie Antoinette (Joely Richardson), Jeanne finds an ally in male courtesan Rétaux de la Villette (Simon Baker), who advises her to try and gain influence at court by attracting a wealthy sponsor: Cardinal Rohan (Jonathan Pryce), a ruthless man whose appetite for women is only exceeded by his appetite for power. Aided by Villette, her estranged husband Nicolas (Adrien Brody), and an enigmatic foreign mystic, Count Cagliostro (Christopher Walken), Jeanne becomes embroiled in an elaborate scheme involving the cardinal, the queen, and the theft of a priceless diamond necklace. Director Charles Shyer's opulent costume drama, set against a backdrop of increasing civil unrest in pre-revolutionary France, was filmed in Prague and on location at Versailles. [More]

Starring: Hilary Swank, Simon Baker, Adrien Brody, Jonathan Pryce

Starring: Hilary Swank, Simon Baker, Adrien Brody, Jonathan Pryce, Joely Richardson, Christopher Walken, Brian Cox, Paul Brooke, Peter Eyre

Director: Charles Shyer

Director: Charles Shyer
Screenwriter: John Sweet
Producer: Redmond Morris, Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Milena Canonero
Composer: David Newman
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Release:

Jun 25, 2002

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Reviews for The Affair of the Necklace

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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/17/09
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
08/09/02
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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A cheap bauble of a flick.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
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The film has a desperate, disjointed feel that suggests the filmmakers realized it wasn't working and kept trying, ineffectually, to fix it.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
02/08/02
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
01/22/02
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
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The entire film seems a series of disjointed pieces, a screenful of iron filings waiting in vain for the magnet that will line them up in a unified field.

comment Comment
12/26/01
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
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Shyer's film denies us the double dip of vice and virtue. It's moralistic.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
12/25/01
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
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The storytelling is hopelessly compromised by the movie's decision to sympathize with Jeanne.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
12/25/01
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Little more than sexed-up soap opera in powdered wigs.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
12/24/01
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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Hilary Swank and Simon Baker make an especially attractive couple who have several electrifying moments onscreen.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
12/24/01
Charles Ealy
Charles Ealy
Dallas Morning News
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Shyer ... exhibits little flair for the ebb and flow of a costume caper movie.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/24/01
John Petrakis
John Petrakis
Chicago Tribune
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I'm sure that it's sort of a 'Fractured Fairy Tale' version of the real events that happened, but the fact that it was inspired by real-life events made me enjoy it all the more.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
12/03/01
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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Beautifully acted and mounted.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
12/01/01
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
CNN.com
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No matter how ornate or magnificent a strand of jewels might be, it's not the most effective device to pin a story on.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
11/30/01
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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[Swank's] out of her league here and her tendency to underplay -- as if she were afraid of the material and didn't want to risk anything flamboyant or bold -- makes her performance seem tentative, half-felt.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/30/01
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
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This is a good example of what can happen when a bunch of grownup humans who really ought to know better get funny ideas about art.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
11/30/01
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
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Hokey, embarrassing costumer.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/30/01
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post
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The Affair of the Necklace drags and meanders when it wants clarity and clockwork, and bogs down in hazy, vague emotions.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
11/29/01
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
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The Affair of the Necklace is no paperback romance or swashbuckler it at first appears to be, but rather the remarkable odyssey of a young woman who lived to tell her amazing story herself.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/29/01
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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There's no fury to the movie, repressed or otherwise, which may be why when the Revolution arrives, it has all the impact of a guillotine with a deadly dull blade.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
11/29/01
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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