This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The true story seems to have been cleaned for the film, but it adheres to the historical account somewhat. Jeanne seemed to have been quite a liar in real life while Hilary is scrumptious and hautaine. Good story for the film, comedic at times.

for costumes, for the admirable work of Adrien Brody and Jonathan Pryce, for the effort of Hillary Swank to be credible in a role who is not real comfortable for her, for a lovely Marie Antoinette by Joely Richardson, for the decent way for present a legend in attractive manner. film of costumes and atmosphere, remembering Dumas more than the spirit of reign of Louis XVI, it is a beautiful film. and this is enough.

Certainly the true story of "The Affair of the Necklace" is one of the most fascinating in all history, and despite a lot of problems, this 2001 film, deriving its name from said affair, is interesting if misguided. The director seemed to want a sexually-charged drama, though he didn't get one. The casting is odd, starring Hilary Swank as Comtesse Jeanne LaMotte. She doesn't have enough European sensibility. Adrien Brody plays her cavorting husband and doesn't seem to get the period either. As Cardinal Rohan, however, Jonathan Pryce is very good, as are some of the performances in the smaller roles.There are lots of complaints on this board about the accents, which goes to show you that this film failed on a few levels - people would probably not be mentioning accents if they'd really loved this movie. First of all, there isn't anything wrong with the accents, not the accents themselves or the variety of them. Films have mixed accents for years. For those who think everyone should have been speaking with a French accent, think again. The theatrical rule: if you are playing a foreigner living in his own country, say France, he is not speaking English with a French accent; he is speaking his native tongue; therefore, no accent is required. Were this not the case, all Chekov plays would be performed with the actors using thick Russian accents just as one example. Many actors use the more attractive British accent instead. Maybe there could have been more uniformity, but you can say that about any WWII propaganda film, where Hollywood hired actual foreigners to work among the Americans.I actually found the movie intriguing, as it's a great story, even if it wasn't told particularly well. It did deviate from the truth quite a bit, though. LaMotte was not as she was portrayed. She came from a poor family but was of royal blood, and what she wanted was a good-sized pension from the Queen (here Joely Richardson, no teen queen), who ignored her as in the film. Jeanne's plot consisted of the forged letters by Marie asking Cardinal Rohan, in actuality Jeanne's lover, to lend her the money, not just guarantee the payments. Louis and Marie wanted a public trial not just because the Affair of the Necklace had further destroyed Marie's reputation, but because France was abuzz with the rumor than Jeanne was Marie's lover. As in the film, Marie did wind up in England and write her memoirs, but they were filled with stories of a lesbian relationship between her and Marie Antoinette.In portraying Jeanne as somehow sympathetic - denied her place in society, as well as her home and her name, and watching her father (who was in reality a drunk) killed by soldiers - a lot of the teeth is taken out of the story. While 1938's "Marie Antoinette" makes Marie a heroine, this one portrays her as a cold bitch. Selfish and shallow she certainly was and like much of history's royalty, completely out of touch with her people - but Jeanne was no saint either. A more accurate telling of this story would make for a much better drama.

The Affair of the Necklace (AN) is historical drama that proves that the " all for the want of a nail" parable holds true. It starts out 10-15 years before AN, when a minor French noble family was wiped out, just for saying "let's be kind to the poor," and their property seized by the French crown. The big mistake was leaving a surviving child (Jeanne (Swank)) that later wanted her family name and property restored. The bigger mistake was not giving Jeanne her request so she would go away. Being on a just mission, Jeanne stays and adeptly moves through the sycophantic royal court gathering strength and allies. Finally, an opportunity to get even and restore her family's fortune, results in the scandal of "The Affair of the Necklace". This scandal further disgraces the French Royalty, gets almost everyone else in trouble, and totally incites the rest. This helps lead to the French Revolution, then to the Napoleonic Wars. The final irony is Jeanne goes to England, out lives most everyone while France, the Royalty, and the sycophants get their just rewards. Just one big happy karmic cycle.The cast is chocked full of big name 2nd lead actors like Christopher Walken, Swank, and Pryce. This movie is beautifully-photographed and lavishly costumed. Granted AN may seem dull at times but history and real people cannot be entertaining at all times. AN also shows more than enough pettiness at court to fill a book and further savor the fate that await everyone (Alas, Russia in the 1910's made all the same mistakes). Rating for entertainment, I give AN a "C" but, for showing conniving powerful people, ring nosed sycophants, and history in an ironic twist, I give AN a "B+". Overall this movie is much like Vatel (2000) where the small guy tries to hold the tail of the tiger (royalty) while walking a tightrope, over a shark pit, with sycophants cutting the line. All and all, a good history/people film.