Pre-Revolutionary France was one of the most decadent and infamous eras in history.

The monarchy and the church were as corrupt as they were wealthy.

Charles Shyer's costume drama The Affair of the Necklace suggests one of the key events in the decline in the power of the monarchy and church was the ownership of a magnificent piece of jewelry.

The royal jewelers crafted a stunning diamond necklace for one of the mistresses of King Louis XVI (Simon Shackelton).

When the woman fell out of favour, the jewelers presented it to Queen Marie Antoinette (Joely Richardson) as if it had been commissioned for her.

There were no secrets in the palace so Marie declined the priceless babble.

This would have been the end of the affair if not for Comtesse Jeanne de la Motte-Valois (Hilary Swank), who wants to regain the estate and title that had been taken away from her family when she was just a child.

She hatches an scheme with court gigolo Retaux de Villette (Simon Baker).

Shyer and writer John Sweet see their tale as yet another Dangerous Liaisons where passions and plotting reign supreme.

The unraveling of the scheme of the lives involved is intriguing but it is not fraught with nearly enough genuine sexual tension.

Shyer would have us believe he has crafted this year's Quills, but The Affair of the Necklace is much more like an A & E or Masterpiece Theatre offering.

Swank made a far more credible transsexual in Boys Don't Cry than she does a devious upperclass French woman. (More on: The Affair Of The Necklace).

(This film is rated AA)

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