BENT
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: ** OUT OF ****
United Kingdom, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 12/5/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:42 MPAA Classification: NC-17 (nudity, sex, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Cast: Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Brian Webber, Ian McKellen, Mick Jagger Director: Sean Mathias Producers: Dixie Linder, Michael Solinger Screenplay: Martin Sherman based on his play Cinematography: Yorgos Arvanitis Music: Philip Glass U.S. Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn
It has long been recognized that Hitler's final solution exterminated more than Jews. Gypsies and homosexuals were also routinely prodded onto trains like cattle and sent off to ovens and gas showers. To this date, most films have examined the tragedy from the Jewish point-of-view. A select few, such as Steven Spielberg's Oscar- winning SCHINDLER'S LIST, have presented the truth with heartbreaking, gut-wrenching clarity. Rarely, however, has a motion picture attempted what BENT does: show the Holocaust through the eyes of two gay men enduring a grueling existence at the Dachau concentration camp.
Unfortunately, what begins with an interesting premise and a promising first half quickly devolves into a boring, muddled, melodramatic love story. BENT is based on the 1979 stage play of the same name. By all accounts, the live version is both startling and moving. The motion picture version is neither -- something critical was lost in the translation, even though playwright Martin Sherman wrote the screenplay. Many of the things that can work in a play, when the live nature of the production allows an intimate rapport to develop between the actors and the audience, fail on the big screen. The final fifty minutes of BENT are a prime example.
The movie's first half is more successful. It introduces us to a pair of gay lovers living out their lives in Berlin during the late 1930s. They are Max (Clive Owen), the "black sheep" of a wealthy family, and Rudy (Brian Webber), and effeminate dancer. Together, the two spend their nights at Greta's, a dive run by a transvestite (Mick Jagger). While Rudy performs, Max drinks, snorts cocaine, and picks up men for quick sex. That lifestyle ends, however, when Hitler orders homosexuals sent to concentration camps. Despite pleas from his uncle (Ian McKellen), Max refuses to flee Germany unless he can get Rudy out with him. Ultimately, both men are caught and sent to Dachau. En route, Max is befriended by a timid gay man named Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), who advises him not to acknowledge his lover if he wishes to remain alive. Following that advice allows Max to survive after Rudy is beaten to death. Later, by "performing" with a young girl to convince the Nazis of his heterosexuality, Max is able to "upgrade" his status from that of a homosexual (who must wear a pink triangle) to that of a Jew (who wears a yellow star).
Once the movie reaches Dachau, it grinds to a screeching halt. The remainder of BENT concentrates on the relationship between Max and Horst. They meet in the yard every day, moving rocks back and forth in an example of pointless monotony. This particular activity is not inherently cinematic in nature and BENT's banal, repetitious dialogue does little to liven it up. Gradually, the tediousness of the second half sucks all of the potential drama (not to mention the energy) out of the film. We give up caring whether the characters live or die. They don't have anything interesting to say, and the scene in which they engage in "verbal sex" borders on being unintentionally funny. Solid performances from lead actors Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau go in vain. The final scene, which is supposed to be a triumphant crowd- pleaser, comes across as obvious and overplayed.
One thing I don't doubt is director Sean Mathias' sincerity. BENT is obviously an important story for him; it's just that he and writer Martin Sherman made too many bad choices in adapting the play. Instead of being a revealing look at one often-neglected group of Hitler's victims, BENT turns into a lifeless, preachy love story where the characters lose their connection with the audience the longer they remain on screen. In fact, BENT's most important contribution may be to illustrate by comparison how powerful a movie like SCHINDLER'S LIST truly is.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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