I like films made about artists. It’s as if the director takes their vision and ensures every frame is framed like art. To make a film about the earless one, Vincent Van Gogh, directors Dorothy Kobiela and Hugh Welchman have taken this challenge to another level, by enlisting over 125 artists to paint each frame as if it was a Van nGogh painting. The result is stunning. 

You wouldn’t think a film about the great artist would be a murder-mystery, but it’s a device to tell his story, through the journey of another. Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth) is the son of the local postie, Chris O Dowd, who discovers an undelivered letter from Vincent to his brother Peter. Off he goes to Paris, to find Peter had died six months after his brother. He heads off to Auvers-sur-Oise the French village where Vincent spent his last days. There he talks to many locals, hears their stories and a picture of Vincent (Robert Gulaczyk) and discovers that Vincent was painting feverishly and happily, and something more devious was at play. Or was it? 

The plot and dialogue are a bit Miss Marple-ish; I felt like the plot was a loose way to bring many of his paintings of local characters and landscapes together. Yet, it’s quite clever.

It’s hard to comment on the acting when the actors faces are covered by paint. And I think the only point Armand learns was that Van Gogh was a genius painter, well before the world did. He churned out over 800 paintings but only sold one during his lifetime. He went from amateur to master in just eight years. No one could doubt his work ethic.

My only other complaint were the accents. I kept wondering why the Dutch seemed to have Irish accents? I don’t understand why the director went to such lengths to create Vincent’s world through his eyes but not his ears. It jarred on me.

The overall impact is like being through a gallery of Van Gogh’s art. You won’t really feel like you’ve seen a movie, but you’ll know a lot more about the sad man behind the brush, and be impressed by his art all over again. 

Loving Vincent is in cinemas from November 2

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