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

Director: Charles Shyer

Summary: When a young aristocratic woman and her family lose their wealth during political unrest in France she sets out to steal a priceless necklace...

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 Retaux 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.

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Widely ridiculed on its cinematic release, The Affair of the Necklaceis a fascinating mixture of the spectacular, the romantic and the simply dreadful. Director Charles Shyer--best-known for mediocre comedies like Father of the Bride--leaps perhaps unwisely into the bodice-ripping palace intrigue genre. Admittedly Shyer does have an eye for spectacle--many of the Versailles scenes were shot there and Prague does its usual excellent service as pre-Revolutionary Paris--but he fumbles when it comes to telling the complicated story. The real-life scandal of Jeanne de la Motte-Valois, whose machinations crippled the French monarchy, was complicated enough, but Shyer manages to make it incomprehensible. Even the excellent Brian Cox cannot make the leaden narrative work successfully and some complicated, misleading games with time simply fail to do anything other than irritate.

Hilary Swank--excellent in Boys Don't Cryand Insomnia--is weirdly doll-like and passive as the con-woman La Motte-Valois and only excels in her role when she is pulling pistols on people. As her husband and lover, Adrian Brody and Simon Baker respectively have rather more chemistry, and Jonathan Pryce sweeps around as a depraved gullible cardinal. But the scene-stealers are Christopher Walken, who hams it up spookily as the psychic crook Cagliostro, and Joely Richardson, who plays Marie-Antoinette as an icy, charismatic bitch. The score is an irritating pot-pourri that avoids French music in favour of Bach, Handel and the just-about contemporary Mozart. The gorgeous frocks appear to be where most of the budget was blown--if only a little more was invested into making sense of the script.

On the DVD:The Affair of the Necklaceis presented in a 2.35:1 widescreen visual aspect and has sumptuous Dolby 5.1 sound that does full justice to both dialogue and score. The film has generous extras, including a "making of" documentary and an intelligent piece on the show's design, as well as a director's commentary and deleted scenes which reveal more than we wanted to know about the hesitation and changes that mar the story-telling. --Roz Kaveney

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio Commentary By Director Charles Shyer, Behind The Scenes Documentary, Additional Scenes With Optional Commentary, Gag Reel, Production And Costume Design Documentary
Year:	2001
Release Date:	July 8, 2002
Runtime:	113 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 021292
Keywords:	Affair, General, Wide, Screen, Drama, Period, Necklace
Genre:	Drama