At some point today I will blog about last night's television (Strictly! X Factor! Eddington and Einstein! Buzzcocks! Not all of which I will necessarily elaborate on, but talk about a top-class route to midnight.) But before I do, a preview: one of my favourite films of the last few years, Venus, is on Channel 4 tonight at 10.05. Although scripted by Hanif Kureishi and starring Peter O'Toole, this was largely overlooked on release, probably because it is about old people (boring / gross). Please don't let this put you off. The main thrust of the story is the infatuation that ageing thesp Peter O'Toole develops for an unremarkable young girl, Jodie Whittaker. It's her very unremarkableness which is so seductive to O'Toole, who is mesmerised by her insouciant youth, a quality that he once had but can never get back as he passes his days trapped in his stubbornly decaying body, reading obituaries of his former friends and colleagues. His sensual lust for her is our pathway into understanding how vibrant O'Toole's inner life still is despite all outward appearances. His spirit is willing, but his flesh is weak.
What for me provides the beauty of this film are O'Toole's friendships, with Whittaker's uncle (Leslie Phillips) - a fellow thesp - and with his ex-wife, Vanessa Redgrave, with whom his relationship has passed beyond love, beyond bitterness, and into a sort of unquestioning interreliance which can only come from a lifetime of shared history. These characters may be old but they are not dead yet, and their emotional complexity, the depth which comes from their long life experience, their insistence on living every last ounce of life whilst facing death, makes you wonder why we spend all our filmic energy examining the comparatively shallow lives of the young and naive.
The film is incredibly moving and extremely funny and beautifully performed, as you'd expect from the likes of O'Toole, Phillips and Redgrave, though newcomer Whittaker doesn't let the side down either. Very highly recommended for a wintry night in.
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4 comments:
He did get an Oscar nomination for it didn't he?
Yes. It was the year Forest Whittaker won for his (admittedly excellent) portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Idi Amin was a much flashier role so Whittaker was always going to win it - subtle performances don't tend to win a lot of prizes, though I think in many ways that they are harder.
Sigh. I wanted to like this, I really did. The Resident Fan Boy and I try to watch as many Oscar-nominated performances during January and February as my squeamishness will allow, so saw this in a cinema earlier this year. I hasten to add that old people having sex or feeling sexy does not make me squeamish in the the least, but I'm afraid I fell asleep during this movie. Maybe I'll give it another try on DVD.
It was a super film - loved it, and Leslie Phillips in particular was brilliant.
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