The Affair of the Necklace poster
Review

The Affair of the Necklace 2001

Directed by Charles Shyer · 118 mins · 2,012 views

2.6 Letterboxd 2.92(1,252)
Ratings L N W L 𝖊 B K T A 📀

Synopsis

In pre-Revolutionary France, a young aristocratic woman left penniless by the political unrest in the country, must avenge her family's fall from grace by scheming to steal a priceless necklace.

Trailers

Reviews (35)

  1. L

    They shot Adrien Brody with a gun to afford Hilary Swank.

    5
  2. N
    Noel Penaflor 8 月 24, 2026

    Turgid period drama that occasionally has spikes of drama to keep the viewer from turning it off or walking out of the theater. There are times when you want to use the neck to hang yourself like the nanny from The Omen. You’ve seen worse…but this is no affair to remember.

    12
  3. W
    William W. Hastings 8 月 24, 2026

    ‘The Affair of the Necklace’ relates the infamous incident wherein an ambitious noblewoman almost toppled a monarchy in pursuit of restoration of her family name. The intrigue and grandiosity of French aristocracy is excellent fodder for entertaining storytelling and they take full advantage of it here. The costumes and sets do a wonderful job effortlessly transporting the viewer into the past. Unfortunately, overreliance on voiceover narration and the omniscience of the narrator (a character actively participating in the story) hamper the drama from unfolding as deliciously as it may have otherwise. Ultimately though, these complaints don’t hold the movie back from entertaining. I’m always more willing to extend forgiveness to period pieces for poor narrative decisions. Narration simply feels slightly…

    11
  4. L
    loureviews 8 月 24, 2026

    I love period dramas and a bit of intrigue, but this film has one big problem, the casting of Hilary Swank in the lead. She is just miscast, looks uncomfortable, sounds as if she is bored, and brings the pace of the film to a grinding halt whenever she is the focal point on screen (which is a lot). But there are compensations. Jonathan Pryce is excellent as the horny Cardinal, Brian Cox does well as Marie Antoinette’s adviser, and Christopher Walken is fun as a moustache-twirling plotter. The music is very good indeed, costumes and sets make for an engrossing atmosphere, and even with a clunky script, this real-life story has enough to be watchable.

    16
  5. 𝖊
    𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖉𝖎𝖊 8 月 24, 2026

    things wrong with this movie: 1. costumes 2. hilary swank/adrien brody doing bad english accents 3. the plot 4. the script 5. the use of talented actors on a bad movie things right about this movie: 1. adrien brody

    10
  6. B
    Brian Rowe 8 月 24, 2026

    The only major Oscar-baity project Hilary Swank made between her two Best Actress Academy Award wins is lavishly produced, with fine costume design that got this film its only Oscar nomination, but the narrative is a slog, with Swank miscast and often trying too hard. The only real joy in this is seeing some great actors pop up in supporting roles, especially Adrien Brody and Christopher Walken.

    14
  7. K
    Ken 8 月 24, 2026

    My, I do say that these people are quite insufferable

    11
  8. T
    twing twing 8 月 24, 2026

    boring asf but adrien licking cream made me bark

    21
  9. A
    Adrian 8 月 24, 2026

    2 stars for Goth King Christopher Walken.

    10
  10. 📀
    📀 Cammmalot 📀 8 月 24, 2026

    Cinematic Time Capsule 2001 Marathon – Film #154 ”It is remarkable how quickly you have made yourself tiresome.” It’s a good bet that all involved thought they were hopping a carriage bound for Oscar Town, but sadly it’s true destination turned out to be Dullsville. Even the great costumes and art design act as little more than window dressing for this French confection of relative boredom. BONUS POINTS for Christopher Walken who’s performance as the mystical soothsayer was easily the best gem to be found in this otherwise languid production. ”You show fantastic audacity in seeking me out. Though… I knew you would.” Cinematic Time Capsule – 2001 Ranked

    50
  11. V
    venka 8 月 24, 2026

    The wikipedia page for the incident was way more entertaining than this film.

    10
  12. L
    La Boscaiola 8 月 24, 2026

    So far, I’ve watched several pretty good films and series with Marie Antoinette as the main character, such as Marie Antoinette (2006) by Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette (2022) by Deborah Davis, or as a side character, like Les Adieux à la Reine (2012) by Benoît Jacquot, or the recent Jeanne Dubarry (2023) by Maïwenn. This one could have been pretty good as well thanks to Jonathan Pryce and Joely Richardson and the decent production value when it comes to locations and costumes (only the protagonist’s style seems somewhat off most of the time), but the attempt to turn Jeanne de la Motte into a traumatized and righteous character, who blackmails and betrays key figures of the French monarchy to get…

    27
  13. S
    S💿nya 6 月 21, 2026

    So she really did all that for attention

  14. M
    melanchol_iclem 6 月 7, 2026

    I liked the costumes, and overall, it was interesting to see what people of that century lived like

  15. M
    mitch 6 月 7, 2026

    Down with the monarchy! incredible cast in this tale of jeanne st. remy de valois and her struggle to get back her family name and lineage . Brian cox’s narration was outstanding. True story.

  16. B
    brujita77 4 月 25, 2026

    Menudo reparto!

  17. V
    valentin 4 月 24, 2026

    À part faire passer la méchante pour la gentille, ce film ne fait pas grand chose mais sinon MDR la scène du chocolat

  18. M
    MoHill 4 月 19, 2026

    ziemlich langweilig

  19. B
    BlitzSchnitz 3 月 26, 2026

    Came to see pretty Simon Baker in great period costume (by Milena Canonero of “Barry Lyndon”-fame) and was not disappointed. The rest can be fast forwarded.

  20. T
    Tyler Truong 3 月 10, 2026

    The Affair of the Necklace (2001) 42/100 | 2.5/5 damn adrian brody’s hair was long asf

  21. L
    LouDeLouxor 2 月 2, 2026

    L’histoire française vu par les américains donc romancé. Rien de bien grandiose mais les petites envolées musicales font leur petits effets.

  22. D
    Dan O'Neill 1 月 26, 2026

    That narration was UNBEARABLE

    2
  23. L
    Live action Miss Piggy 1 月 13, 2026

    Oh this was not good and not historically accurate cartoonish even at times, but man would I watch it again

    4
  24. B
    Black_mamba1 1 月 10, 2026

    Oh so it wasn’t a cute and fun heist movie set in the 1700s…..i’m in the wrong room

    2
  25. L
    lukemerson 1 月 10, 2026

    These French people sure speak English good! Jokes aside, there are some really good performances here. Despite a few low points, there are some surprisingly good scenes considering its average review score. Every character is a scumbag which makes it kind of fun to watch in that regard. Costuming is great too! That said, I’m not a fan of this style of narration and some of the editing was odd. Also, I think there’s a take like 30 minutes in…

    1
  26. S
    STEPHEN TUBBS 12 月 27, 2025

    The excellent casting helps to make up for the uninteresting characters. The story is interesting enough and is well mounted.

    1
  27. K
    Kelsey Nie 12 月 15, 2025

    I totally wanted to this to be some kind of Oceans 11 type film, but it was not.

    2
  28. P
    Patricia Henderson 12 月 8, 2025

    I gave it half a star more upon rewatch, but I’m still rather “meh” about it. I’m currently working on an episode about this one for the “Adrien Brody With Sprinkles” channel. Adrien Brody, Jonathan Pryce, and Brian Cox are all a pleasure to watch, here. Hillary Swank did the best she could with what they gave her, I think. There are some scenes that are quite moving, and some that fall flat. It’s an uneven film, overall.

    1
  29. C
    Crisantemoon 12 月 4, 2025

    It is quite funny but forgettable

    1
  30. K
    kontrabasdzwoni 11 月 3, 2025

    this movie was average.

    1
  31. 𝓑

    Why is Jeanne so easily hateable

    1
  32. C
    carys 10 月 18, 2025

    this was objectively bad but i liked it i don’t care. it was so time princess. the cast was randomly really good and this is my favorite time period. not nearly enough adrien though! also i miss versailles ☹️

    3
  33. M
    Marlon Dennis 8 月 30, 2020

    A big bombastic period movie that should have been my cup of tea but it lacks sexiness and drama and Swank is the wrong actress for this kind of material.

    1
  34. L
    Lord of the Monkeys 1 月 4, 2020

    หนังได้ชิงออสการ์สาขาคอสตูมยอดเยี่ยมในปีที่ Moulin Rouge ชนะไป หนังเล่าเรื่องของสร้อยเพชรที่ว่ากันว่าเป็นหนึ่งในสาเหตุของการลุกฮือประท้วงโค่นราชบัลลังค์ฝรั่งเศสที่พรากชีวิตของพระนางมารี อังตัวเนตต์ไป ทั้งที่ตัวพระนางเองไม่ได้มีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องใดๆ ด้วยเลย นั่นเป็นเพราะต้นเรื่องมาจากนางเอกที่คิดแผนซับซ้อนหลอกลวงพระราชาคณะ ร่วมมือกับคนรักใหม่และอดีตสามี จุดหมายเพื่อเอาเงินไปไถ่คืนบ้านของพ่อแม่จากทางการและกู้ชื่อเสียงของวงศ์สกุลอันมีความหมายยิ่งสำหรับเธอ เราพบว่าหนังเล่าเรื่องได้สนุกมาก ผู้กำกับ Charles Shyer ทำหนังดูสนุกทุกเรื่อง ตั้งแต่ Baby Boom, I Love Trouble, Father of the Bride ทั้ง 2 ภาค และ Alfie เรื่องนี้ก็สนุก แม้จะมีความไม่น่าเชื่อถืออยู่หลายบทหลายตอนในเนื้อเรื่อง เป็นปัญหาของบทภาพยนตร์ หนังได้รับเสียงวิจารณ์ย่ำแย่มากตอนออกฉาย หลักๆ คงเป็นเพราะแคสติ้งของ Hilary Swank ที่ดูไม่เหมาะกับบทสาวฝรั่งเศสยุคเก่าเอาเสียเลย จุดนี้เราเห็นด้วย น่าจะเอานักแสดงอังกฤษดีๆ มาเล่นแทน แต่ไม่ใช่ว่านางเล่นไม่ดีนะ ก็เล่นโอเค แต่บุคลิกท่าทางมันดูไม่กลมกลืนไปกับทีมนักแสดงที่ยอดเยี่ยมรอบข้างเลย เรื่องสำเนียงพูดไม่พูดถึง เพราะไม่ได้ฟังรู้ขนาดนั้น (แถมเป็นหนังพูดอังกฤษในบริบทประเทศฝรั่งเศส ไม่รู้จะวิจารณ์เรื่องสำเนียงพูดอังกฤษในเรื่องไปทำไม55) นอกจากนั้นแล้ว ตัวหนังก็ลื่นไหลดี ดูสนุก ชอบทีมนักแสดงมาก ไล่มาตั้งแต่ Jonathan Price, Brian Cox, Christopher Walken, Simon Baker, Adrien Brody, Joley Richardson (เล่นเป็นมารี อังตัวเนตต์ เล่นดีมาก)​ และงานโปรดักชัน คอสตูม ก็ดูเพลินตาเป็นที่สุด ;)​

  35. A
    angucker 11 月 12, 2015

    Der Film vergeudet für die ziemlich gute (wahre) Geschichte die unbestreitbaren Talente von so großartigen Darstellern wie Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody, Christopher Walken und dem als geiler Kardinal perfekt den Bösewicht spielenden Jonathan Pryce. Ständig dudelt im Hintergrund belanglose Fahrstuhlmusik und die Erzählweise ist so einfallslos und schlicht, dass es dem Film jegliche Spannung und jeden Witz nimmt. Dem Film fehlt jedes Tempo. Dadurch wird die erste Hälfte unerträglich lang und bis zum Ende kommt nie so richtig Freude oder…

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My rating

H Hilary Swank Jeanne St. Remy de Valois
J Jonathan Pryce Cardinal Louis de Rohan
S Simon Baker Rétaux de Vilette
A Adrien Brody Count Nicolas De La Motte
B Brian Cox Minister Breteuil
J Joely Richardson Marie-Antoinette
C Christopher Walken Count Cagliostro
H Hayden Panettiere Young Jeanne
S Simon Kunz Minister of Titles
P Paul Brooke Monsieur Bohmer
P Peter Eyre Monsieur Bassenge
F Frank McCusker Abel Duphot
S Simon Shackleton Louis XVI
H Hermione Gulliford Nicole Leguay d'Oliva
G Geoffrey Hutchings President D'Aligre
J James Vaughan Magistrate Titon
J Jonathan Newth Magistrate de Marce
K Kristina Bill Irène de Valois
J James Larkin Darnell de Valois
D Diana Quick Madame Pomfré
Director Charles Shyer
Writer John Sweet
Producer Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Redmond Morris, Charles Shyer, Nigel Goldsack, Stacey Attanasio, Kira Davis
Editor David Moritz
Original Music David Newman
Sound Dino DiMuro, Tony Lamberti
Art Direction Jean-Michel Ducourty, Jean-Michel Hugon
Casting Suzanne Smith Crowley, Billy Hopkins, Mark Bennett, Kerry Barden, Gail Stevens
Synopsis
In pre-Revolutionary France, a young aristocratic woman left penniless by the political unrest in the country, must avenge her family's fall from grace by scheming to steal a priceless necklace.
Director
Charles Shyer
Writer
John Sweet
Studio
Alcon Entertainment
Country
USA
Language
English
Year
2001
Runtime
118 mins

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  • USA20 Nov 2001
  • USA30 Nov 2001
  • Spain04 Jan 2002
  • Italy15 Mar 2002
  • Portugal10 May 2002
  • Czechia06 Jun 2002
  • Lithuania09 Aug 2002
  • Switzerland14 Feb 2002