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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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15 %
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Reviews Counted: 60

Fresh: 9

Rotten:51

Average Rating: 3.7/10

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.

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Dramas

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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Reviews for The Affair of the Necklace

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
01/22/02
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

While director Charles Shyer ... may have succeeded in creating an appropriate environment for all this skulduggery, he does so at the expense of coherent storytelling and drama.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/10/02
Danny Graydon
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/17/09
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Much of the dramatic juice and intrigue have been drained out of this old-fashioned costume drama, that in the hands of director Charles Shyer and actress Hilary Swank becomes stiff, stuffy, and banal affair.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/01/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Swank's honest mistake is in trying to be worthy of a project that's beneath her.

Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
02/01/05
Alan Dale
Blogcritics.org

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly
N/R

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Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

I felt as if I was at an Yves St. Laurent fashion show and the actors were modeling the latest in 18th-century fashions.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/22/03
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Jeanne is no fun at all.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
10/02/02
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
09/20/02
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

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Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/09/02
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

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Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
08/09/02
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

... takes a fascinating footnote and reduces it to a mediocre and fitfully entertaining film.

Full Review Source: Baseline.Hollywood.com | comment Comment
08/05/02
Ted Murphy
Baseline.Hollywood.com

A crass, often ridiculously misguided period drama that spells everything out in nice, big block letters so even a small child could comprehend it.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
06/26/02
Jason Clark
Matinee Magazine

A cheap bauble of a flick.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
03/15/02
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The kind of movie made bearable only by uttering snide comments to a friend.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
02/15/02
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

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
Houston Chronicle
 
 
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