Venus

What a beautiful little film. Peter O' Tools character, Maurice, is so full of life despite his rather frail appearance and as excentric as one would imagine O' Toll himself to be.

For anyone concerned with growing old and eventually dying this movie provides some light at the end of the tunnel.

I admit; I have no idea why I saw this movie. The film didn't look appealing to me and the accolades it racked up I just chucked up to pure sentimentality, especially when in regards to Peter O'Toole's Oscar nomination. The film came on Cinemax the other night though, and so I decided to give it a try.

Wow.

I will never just automatically dismiss anything as pure sentiment again, for Peter O'Toole is flawless here and delivers what may be his finest performance of all time. In all honesty, I couldn't believe that this man was doing what he was doing with this character. Peter O'Toole has been lauded time and time again as one of our greatest actors who has yet to win an Oscar, and yet I have never felt that his losing streak was a huge crime given his competition (although how anyone beat his `Laurence of Arabia' performance is still beyond me). His portrayal of Maurice in `Venus' has changed my opinion of him entirely though, so much so that I am livid at the fact that he has yet to win an `acting' Oscar.

Let's get on with the film review.

`Venus' is in reference to the pet name Maurice gives to Jessie, the neice of his close friend Ian. Jessie is visiting her Uncle and soon finds herself in Maurice's naughty thoughts, and since he is elderly and lonely she starts to cater to him in exchange for his company and affection. She enjoys his time and he enjoys hers, albeit for different reasons. Despite the somewhat disgusting nature of their relationship, both O'Toole and Whittaker work to keep their characters sympathetic and understandable, flaunting not only their faults but also their humanity.

The script is extremely well crafted, giving every actor enough to work with. The story is simple yet meaningful and the dialog is rich and intriguing. I never thought that watching a few old men converse would hold my interest, but the bantering between Peter O'Toole and Leslie Phillips prove to be some of my favorite moments of the film.

The acting is superb on all fronts, but O'Toole and Phillips by far deserve the most praise. O'Toole manages to make his character relatable even though he is detestable in parts. He captures his characters lonely desperation that helps deaden us to his carnal fascination. Phillips is a cinematic dream, delivering line after line with precision and comedic brilliance. He's like a make version of Kathy Bates, providing comedic relief with reckless abandon. Jodie Whittaker is also astonishing as Jessie, but her character at times proves to be more of a prop for Maurice's development.

In the end I have to say that `Venus' proved to be so much more than I ever imagined it would be. With a marvelously astute script and a marvelously capable cast, `Venus' stands tall as one of the best films of 2006. It's a shame to me that the Academy chose such mediocre films for their shortlist (none of which come close to my top ten) when they had so many beautifully complete films to chose from. `Venus' alone is far more worthy of the Best Picture title than any of the five films Oscar chose to honor with nominations.

One of the dearest, wittiest, most beautiful films of all time. Peter O'Toole is a master, Leslie Phillips is a "find." I adored it. I wondered if I would like it because so many critics were put off by the "dirty old man" theme, but that is really insulting to elderly people. O'Toole likes the tough young girl, expelled from and shamed by her family. He awakens her to her beauty and worth; she keeps him alive. Each has a self-centered agenda, which is exactly as it should be, and keeps this exquisite film from being maudlin. Loved it to the max and recommend it to one and all.

"Venus" explores the strange relationship between an aging actor (Peter O'Toole) and a "lost" young lady, newly arrived in London. They both "need" each other in their own way. The story is both an unsettling male fantasy and a fresh meditation on the tragedy of growing old. O'Toole is brilliant as the old man - but one can't help feeling somewhat troubled by the rather degrading depiction of the young lady in this film.

I think I can be brief with this review as I don't wish to spend too much time or emotion over it. The story is a pathetic romp through the mud and I can't believe that O'Toole would permit himself to portray a dirty old man in heat.

Those of you who are long time fans of O'Toole would probably do well to avoid this film as I have been an admirer of his work for my entire life and felt badly for him after viewing it.

Those Amazon reviewers awarding 3 stars or less to this movie agree with me and I don't give a dam what Hollywood said about this film.