Tulip Fever (2017)

An artist falls for a young married woman while he's commissioned to paint her portrait during the Tulip mania of 17th century Amsterdam.

Director:

Justin Chadwick

Writers:

Deborah Moggach (screenplay by), Tom Stoppard (screenplay by)

Stars:

Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, Jack O'Connell

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alicia Vikander	...	Sophia Sandvoort
Dane DeHaan	...	Jan van Loos
Jack O'Connell	...	Willem Brok
Holliday Grainger	...	Maria
Tom Hollander	...	Dr Sorgh
Matthew Morrison	...	Mattheus
Kevin McKidd	...	Johan De Bye
Douglas Hodge	...	Nicholas Steen
Joanna Scanlan	...	Mrs Overvalt
Zach Galifianakis	...	Gerrit
Judi Dench	...	Abbess
Christoph Waltz	...	Cornelis Sandvoort
David Harewood	...	Mr Prater
Alexandra Gilbreath	...	Lysbeth
Cara Delevingne	...	Annetje

Storyline

In 17th Century Amsterdam, an orphaned girl Sophia (Alicia Vikander) is forcibly married to a rich and powerful merchant Cornelis Sandvoort (Christoph Waltz) - an unhappy "arrangement" that saves her from poverty. After her husband commissions a portrait, she begins a passionate affair with the painter Jan Van Loos (Dane DeHaan), a struggling young artist. Seeking to escape the merchant's ever-reaching grasp, the lovers risk everything and enter the frenzied tulip bulb market, with the hope that the right bulb will make a fortune and buy their freedom.

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Plot Keywords:

portrait | artist | painter | tulip mania | kitchen maid | 

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Taglines:

With passion comes risk.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Febre das Tulipas

Filming Locations:

Norwich Cathedral, Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,425,664, 16 November 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Worldview Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Ruby Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dane Dehaan and Cara Delevingne have also starred together in Valerian and the city of a thousand planets.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Maria: [narration] Before you were born, Amsterdam was captivated by a flower: the tulip. They came from far away in the East and were so rare and beautiful that people lost their senses in wanting to own them. Rich and poor were spending and borrowing money to join the trade in bulbs, which were going up in price all the time. None more so than the rare striped tulips that were called breakers. A new breaker came from nowhere like an act of God, and it changed people's lives. A white ...

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Valley of Bones (2017)

User Reviews

Gorgeous production cannot disguise the contrivance and melodrama

How could such a beautiful looking movie fall so flat? Sumptuous filming, a stellar cast, with brilliant period sets and costumes are not enough to disguise the fact that Tulip Fever (2017) drowns under the weight of its own plot contrivance and melodramatic performances.

Set in 17th Century Amsterdam, it tells the story of an orphan who "arrived barefoot and left in a carriage". Selected to marry for her great beauty, Sophia's (Alicia Vikander) sole purpose is to bear a child for wealthy merchant Cornelius (Christopher Waltz) whose first marriage was barren. Cornelius commissions struggling artist Jan (Dane DeHaan) to paint their portrait to celebrate his wealth and her beauty but the artist immediately falls under her spell. While the affair progresses, her maidservant Maria (Holliday Grainger) falls pregnant to a fishmonger and the two women concoct a subterfuge whereby Sophia pretends to be pregnant to keep Maria's secret. As a background sub-plot, Jan seeks his fortune in the over-heated tulip market by purchasing the rarest of tulip specimens from an imperious nun (Judi Dench). Melodrama turns into farce as the multiple narratives interweave, tighten, yet ultimately go nowhere.

High visual production values do not make up for story implausibility. The months of unsuccessful mating between Cornelius and Sophia is portrayed as a bawdy comedy of nightly rituals where Cornelius struggles to perform his marital duties. The affair under her husband's nose, the fake pregnancy, and fake birth are all ludicrously implausible. The background tale of wild speculations on the fickle tulip market is a distraction rather than necessary for Jan's predictable investment outcomes. The script sounds unnatural and dialogue is delivered unconvincingly: many lines are spoken across class boundaries in ways that would have been unimaginable in that era. With a top- shelf cast, the acting is flawless although Alicia Vikander stands out for the way she plays the same Alicia Vikander that we have seen in several films. The chemistry with both husband and lover is of the barely flickering variety, and her impersonation of Mona Lisa is, as always, impeccable.

Does the film's ending justify the effort? Disappointingly, no. The fate of all the characters is disconnected from the narrative flow and the storyline threads remain dangling in the wind. For some audiences, the beauty of this production will be worth the commitment. However, after an hour and forty-five minutes, all we learn is that great beauty, wealth, greed, and deception, do not bring happiness; nor do aesthetics alone make a great movie.