Venus Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)January 9th, 2007
VENUS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2007 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In a film certain to remind viewers of a classic Dylan Thomas poem ("Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."), VENUS is a sweet little film about a remarkably chaste May-December romance. As the December character, Peter O'Toole plays Peter O'Toole, although his character is actually named Maurice. Maurice is an old actor, who appears to be in his mid-eighties and who is still "a little famous." Unlike, O'Toole, however, Maurice doesn't appear to have ever been much more than a little famous. Even if his plumbing doesn't work anymore, he still has a keen eye for attractive young women. And, given his frail stature and declining health, any romance he might strike up will probably have to be his last.
Although O'Toole reluctantly received an honorary Oscar in 2003 -- he wanted to wait until he won it outright -- he should be considered the odds-on favorite to take home the statuette for Best Actor this year. He will undoubtedly be a big sentimental favorite with Academy members, who are sorry that they missed giving it to him for his signature roles in films like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. While I can understand this logic, I don't agree with its conclusion. O'Toole does a good job this time, but it's just a modest performance in a small story. I don't think it's worth an Oscar nomination, but you can bet that he'll get at least a nomination, which will be his eighth!
Starting off comedically, the movie makes a nice arc from an entertaining beginning to a bittersweet ending. Our audience was laughing a lot in the first act, although I thought it was only worth smiles. Still, a quite humorous scene does occur early-on when a patient dies in the hospital.
As the girl of Maurice's infatuation, newcomer Jodie Whittaker plays Jessie, whom Maurice likes to call Venus, after a famous painting of the goddess of love. Jessie is a booze guzzling, snack food junkie who appears to be 18-21 or perhaps just a tad older. When we first meet Jessie, the grandniece of Maurice's best friend Ian (Leslie Phillips), she has flopped herself down on Ian's sofa. Dressed in a pink running suit with an exposed midriff, she is mildly alluring, which is all Maurice needs. Instantly smitten, he jumps at the chance to help out Ian, who is so tired of Jessie's antics that he starts taking "pre-nap naps," so Maurice takes Jessie out. When he tries to touch her in any way, she belts him. Later in the story, she loosens up and even permits Maurice to smell her neck -- "but no kissing."
Jessie can't figure Maurice out and vice versa. Actually, he can't even figure himself out, as he remarks at one point, "I am about to die, and I know nothing of myself." Wanting to know more about what he does to pass the time, she asks, "Do you read a lot?" Taking no time at all to contemplate the answer, he replies, "Only when there's no one to talk to."
Jessie has trouble understanding Maurice's sexual needs since his body is no longer capable of much. "I'm impotent, but I still take a theoretical interest."
My favorite scene occurs when Jessie takes a bath. Although neither Maurice nor the audience can see any nudity, he speaks to her wistfully from outside the closed bathroom room, reciting the famous Shakespearean sonnet, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate." His summer is rapidly turning to winter, but he has one last woman to pine for, so he enjoys himself all he can.
VENUS runs 1:35. It is rated R for "language, some sexual content and brief nudity" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, January 19, 2007. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas. The movie was shown recently at the Camera Cinema Club (http://www.cameracinemas.com) of Campbell and San Jose.
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