Con’s Score: 3 Sunflowers
There’s been a run of Vincent Van Gogh cinematic experiences in the last year. There was the stylistic Loving Vincent, two documentaries and now this film starring Willem Dafoe. I should consider myself a Van Gogh art historian now… at least by social media standards.
It’s directed by Julian Schnabel, Academy Award nominated director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and he’s also one of the writers. It focus mainly on Van Gough’s time in the south of France leading up to his infamous ear shearing, through to his time in an asylumn. It skims over the lead-up to his death, and quickly declares it as death by misadventure. (Others have called it suicide).
Willem Dafoe has reached the age where he is perfect for Vincent. Every line in his leathered face and manic glint in his eye say he is Vincent. He’s living and loving this role and is one of Dafoe’s finest.
The problem is Schnabel’s direction. He tries to take us into Van Gough’s head visually and it’s a disorientating place to be. There’s blurry lense effects, handheld photography, extreme close-ups, lots of talking down the lense and a discordant piano as a sparse soundtrack, lots of it at the same time.
It’s very disorientating and feels excessive at times. When you have an actor as good and on cue like Dafoe, I wonder if it’s necessary. It certainly detracts from your focus and the story. The accidental death story is also explored in Loving Vincent, but here, it’s quickly accepted. It’s far more controversial than that. Rupert Friend as Gauguin and the Doctor is good and under utilised.
Dafoe’s acting, particularly in the scenes where the camera stands still long enough to enjoy it, save this film. The dialogue is both clumsy and elegant, and I wonder how many of his letters they’ve used. You have to admit, getting close to a great painter, who battled his demons and sought to escape them through his painting is fascinating. His work evoked an intensity that Schnabel tries to match, but why compete with a master?
