Directed by
Justin Chadwick (
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"), the historical drama
"Tulip Fever" is based on the
novel of the same name written by
Deborah Moggach.
The film is set during the 17th century "Tulip Fever" (also known as "tulip mania") that consumed the Netherlands, a time when the prices of recently introduced tulip bulbs reached astronomical prices and led to the first recorded economic bubble. In this context, the plot follows the passionate affair between a painter (
Dane DeHaan) and a young woman (
Alicia Vikander) forcibly married to a rich and powerful merchant (
Christoph Waltz).
The cast also includes
Jack O'Connell, Holliday Grainger, Tom Hollander, Kevin McKidd, Zach Galifianakis, Judi Dench, Cara Delevingne and
David Harewood.
The first attempt to adapt Moggach's novel was in 2004. Back then, the film was executive-produced by
Steven Spielberg,
John Madden was set to direct, and
Jude Law, Natalie Portman and
Jim Broadbent were onboard to star in the lead roles. It had a $48 million budget and the sets were already built. Production was halted just as it was about to start when the UK closed a tax loophole for funding movies.
In 2013, The Weinstein Company eventually rebooted the project and finished production in 2014. Even so, the film ended up being pushed back repeatedly for two years, until it was finally released on September 1st, 2017. It received catastrophic reviews from critics, who praised the film's production values and cast, but considered it boring, forgettable and poorly written and directed. It was also a failure at the box-office, opening in limited release and grossing only $4.5 million, so far, against a $25 million budget.
Find out more about the movie after the jump.
