Too many close - ups . A little shudder - inducing in parts .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Despite eight nominations for best actor in the Academy Award, Peter O'Toole has never actually won an Oscar. Incredible, considering some of the memorable and well-loved roles he has played during his forty+ year film career (remember Lawrence of Arabia and the Man of Le Mancha - to name but two). His latest nomination was only this year in 2007 for his role in the film Venus.
Venus was not (in my opinion) one of O'Toole's finest roles or one his more endearing. Without O'Toole however, the film would have been lacking. It was O'Toole's screen presence that carried the film and made what could have been a faux-pas into something strangely absorbing and worth watching.
Venus is the result of collaboration between screenwriter Hanif Kureishi and director Roger Michell. This is the second film the pair have made together - the first being The Mother in 2003. Both films attracted a degree of controversy, focusing on the topic of mature sexuality.
Venus could have become crass and smutty (and there is an occasional scene that does make you shudder). However, Mitchell approaches the relationship in a sensitive, tender, almost playful manner as the couple's attraction and respect for each other grow mutually from an original lust (sexual on his part and ambition for fame / material things on hers).
The title role, Venus, is 20 year old Jessie played by Jodie Whittaker. Jessie comes to London seeking work as a model staying with her aging great-uncle Ian played by Leslie Philips. Ian assumes that Jessie will help care for him and his flat visualising an idyllic scenario of home-cooked steamed fish suppers and intellectual conversation. Wrong! Jessie is sullen, lazy and foul-mouthed. His best friend, Maurice (O'Toole) offers to take her off his hands and introduces her to the Theatre, Art Galleries and trendy shops. The March / December romance that develops is not conventional . . .
Running alongside the love story, is the relationship between Maurice, Ian and a third friend - Donald played by Richard Griffiths. This apparently was the basic idea for the film - which was originally to be entitle The Old Gits. Kureishi reflected his own experiences of meeting friends each morning to read through the newspapers (obituaries in the film) and gossip about old friends. The scenes depicting the long-standing friendship between the men provide most of the humour and deliver most of the lyrical and profound messages from the film. The effortless camaraderie between the three works well and to a large part is the highlight of the film.
O'Toole is magnificent - as an ageing thespian he is flamboyant and flirtatious. His obsessiveness for the Jessie is somewhat creepy in parts but O'Toole manages to retain a dignity so that he does not alienate the viewer but manages to draw compassion towards his character.
You might expect Jodie Whittaker as a newcomer to the big screen to be over-shadowed by her famous co-stars. No so, she plays Jessie with youthful energy and power. Maurice's ex-wife is played delightfully by an excellent Vanessa Redgrave. Redgrave generously gives her supporting role grace and wit.
Leslie Philips gives on outstanding performance in his supporting role. He is comically finicky and prudish. There are a few downfalls to the film, the sub-plot of the young boyfriend is unnecessary and adds little to the film. The frequent close-ups extenuating the ageing stars' yellowed teeth and wrinkled skin seemed a little over-the-top. We got the message!
The soundtrack, a collaboration between singer-songwriter Corrine Bailey Rae and film composer David Arnold, is low key and not integral to the film. It is however quite beautiful and melodic - worth taking notice of. The music in the main, is composed for the film. It is a mix between Rae's songs (listen out for Put Your Records On and Another Rainy Day), David Arnold's score (he performs keyboards himself) and some classical favourites (Mozart, Dvorak, and Satie).
Only released in the cinema in December 2006, the DVD release is not due until 22nd May 2007. I would recommend watchingit when it does. The acting is superb and the film is an excellent character study. The subject matter will not be to everyone's taste. Kureishi and Michell approach the film with a frank realism using wit and irony to convey their message.
Hanif Kureishi and Roger Michell collaborate to tell the story with humour and poignancy. Don't expect a sweet sentimental March / December Rom Com, Venus is far from this. Kureishi's writing has an edginess and bite. None of the characters are particularly likeable - each manipulates the others for their own gain. To use a line from the film - "in the habit of putting their own pleasure first." And yet, be prepared to be moved by the film.
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Giles Foster - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Peter O'Toole, Joanna Lumley, Emily Mortimer
![Venus [2007]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/65103780.jpg)
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