"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Monday, July 16, 2018

Countdown to Thirteen: Venus (2006, R)


I remember when this film came out and the buzz about Peter O’Toole’s Oscar chances, it being his eighth nomination with no wins under his belt (Forest Whitaker was the eventual winner.)  However, I never saw it, and until I started Countdown to Thirteen, I had no idea Jodie Whittaker was in it.  This was one of her earliest roles, but despite playing the female lead, I didn’t really hear people talking about her, and so she didn’t come into the notice of a lot of U.S. audiences until Broadchurch (a few spoilers.)

Maurice, an aging actor, takes a liking to the “caregiver” of his friend Ian.  The caregiver, Jessie, is in fact Ian’s great-niece, and he envisions her caring and cooking for him as he teaches her about the finer points of great literature, but he instead feels terrorized by the self-absorbed young woman who drinks his good liquor and can’t be bothered to do much.  But while Ian is desperate to get rid of her, Maurice is immediately entranced by Jessie, and the outings he takes her on to “get her out of Ian’s hair” are designed to impress and attract her.

If I’d seen this movie in 2006, I’m sure I would’ve been troubled by it, and it’s even more uncomfortable to watch in 2018.  Yes, Jessie likes that Maurice buys her things and is shrewd enough to see the advantage in keeping him on the hook, but she also gets that she doesn’t actually owe him anything for the indulgences he lavishes on her, and he repeatedly crosses her explicitly-stated boundaries.  Even when she makes concessions to him – for example, three kisses on her shoulders – he goes past what she’s said he can have.  The hungry look in Maurice’s eye skeeves me out, and regardless of the decades-wide age difference between him and Jessie, I’m less concerned about his age than the fact that he keeps pushing when she tells him no.

As such, it’s a hard film to enjoy.  It’s certainly excellently-made, with a fine cast that also includes Richard Griffiths, Vanessa Redgrave, and Leslie Phillips as Ian (I knew I recognized his voice – he was the Sorting Hat!)  I like the meditation it makes on the assorted indignities of aging, of the change in opportunities, abilities, and other people’s perception of you, and that certainly extends to sex and relationships.  It’s true that, if this was Maurice in his younger days, perhaps Jessie wouldn’t refuse him.  But she does, and that’s why he’s creepy to me.

Whittaker is terrific as Jessie.  She’s an utterly basic young woman, all microwave dinners, reality TV, and expectations of a modeling career that’ll start any day now.  It’s evident that Maurice’s interest in her has nearly nothing to do with who she is – like Ian, he has lofty ideas about her, but unlike Ian, his persist after he gets to know her, and he calls her “Venus” after the painting.

I think the film would probably benefit from more of Jessie’s perspective, but Whittaker still does well handling Jessie’s balancing act with Maurice.  Sometimes she’s opportunistic, sometimes curious, sometimes begrudging, sometimes pitying, sometimes embarrassed, sometimes revulsed, and she doesn’t have everything figured out.  The film offers a few motivations for why she doesn't get away from him, why it seems she actively chooses to stay, but ultimately, what’s in her head kind of eludes me, and I think that’s on the movie, not on Whittaker.

Accent Watch

Super Northern.

Recommend?

In General – I’d have a hard time doing that.  Again, it’s very well made and the performances are all terrific, but it’s a very uncomfortable movie to watch, and not in a good way.

Jodie Whittaker – A cautious yes.  Cautious for the same reason I’d hesitate to recommend the film in general, but yes because Whittaker is fantastic is this very early major role – not like any other character I’ve seen her play.

Warnings

Sexual content, a few scenes of violence, swearing, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.

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