Affair of the Necklace

A handsome but discombobulated and transparently fictionalized French Revolutionary melodrama, Affair of the Necklace tells the tale of an orphaned, impoverished aristocrat conspiring against the crown to restore her family name and estate. Oscar winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry) plays with passion, beauty and conviction this outcast blue blood--named Jeanne de la Motte-Valois--whose attempts to link self-serving Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and a crooked cardinal to an ostentatious, 2,800-carat necklace contribute in no small part to their downfall. Unfortunately, director Charles Shyer is so hung up on making Jeanne sympathetic that he forgoes delicious deception and duplicity for overly-insistent earnestness, and it is not exactly clear how Jeanne's schemes will help regain her title and lands (among other narrative conundrums). Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary with director Charles Shyer, a pair of behind-the-scenes (near 15-minutes each) documentaries--HBO's "The Affair of the Necklace: The Making of a Scandal," and "Designing Affair," with period costume and production design details--five additional scenes, and a four-minute-plus gag reel. Bottom line: A solid extras package for a somewhat disappointing film.] (R. Blackwelder)