VENUS
Directed by Roger Michell
Cast: Peter O’Toole; Leslie Phillips; Jodie Whitaker; Richard Griffiths
There’s nothing like seeing a couple of old masters at work. Take VENUS an unassuming little film that has seen its stock rise exponentially thanks to a frankly dazzling performance from Peter O’Toole, ably supported by Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths in an extended cameo. It garnered O’Toole his eighth Oscar nomination and although he lost out to the superlative Forest Whitaker, there’s little doubt that O’Toole pushed the latter all the way.
O’Toole and Phillips play Maurice and Ian, two aging thesps who are seeing out their days musing on the trivialities of old age at a small café and performing in smaller roles. Ian’s overbearing concern for his own mortality is the cue for his neice Jessie (Jodie Whitaker) to arrive to look after him. She is sullen and blissfully unaware of her own potential. While Ian bemoans her complacency and rude demeanour, Jessie manages to bring a spark to Maurice’s life. Over the course of a film a tragic and slow-burning romance develops between the two that is as tender as it is ugly.
What seems like a quite predictable premise is soon revealed to have a much darker and oddly poignant tone. While the relationship between Jessie and Maurice begins innocently enough it soon shifts into murkier territory. It’s patently obvious that Jessie is not above using her charms to influence Maurice who develops an almost obsessive and quite creepy fixation with his ‘Venus’. The film is rife with quite uncomfortable scenes that have the tendency to make the audience feel like voyeurs with each passing moment. That the film chooses not to shy away as the relationship escalates makes it a far bolder effort. There is something quite perverted about Maurice’s infatuation, something that O’Toole’s natural presence and effortless charisma deflects quite naturally. Crucially O’Toole makes a series of wonderful choices that make Maurice a complex character driven by quite simple desires after a lifetime of excess. Vanessa Redgrave is also quite mesmerising as Maurice’s ex-wife. She shares some blissful screen time with the wily veteran that adds a much needed gentler touch
Beyond that though, on paper it is difficult to see how the film could succeed were it not for the magnetic performances on show. Jessie treats Maurice horrendously when she becomes painfully self-aware of his preoccupation with her and by all accounts Maurice is simply a smooth lech. Their final moments together seem to forgive all of the sinister subtext but there’s no escaping how unsympathetic the pair ultimately are. Star-crossed lovers whose own selfish behaviour ruins their relationship.
At once both a reflection on old age and past glory VENUS carefully skirts any cliché with a dry script and marvellous performances. Perhaps the only ill-fitting element is a grating soundtrack from Corinee Bailey-Rae that in contrast to the natural flow of everything is about as graceful as a sledgehammer. But this is a mere trifle. As a swansong for some of cinema’s greatest, VENUS is a fitting finale before the curtain falls.
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