VICTORY
A film review by Sherrie Lee
Copyright 1996 The Flying Inkpot
Directed by : Mark Peploe Written by : Mark Peploe, Fred Siedel, novel by Josef Conrad Cast : Simon Callow, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Field, Irene Jacob, Michael Lee, Graziano Marcelli, Sam Neill (Mr. Jones), Bill Paterson, Rufus Sewell, Jean Yanne, Ho Yi Rating : ** out of ***** Theatres : Lido Classics.
Victory, what victory?
Based on the novel set in 1914 by Joseph Conrad, Victory spins a tale of a pair of lovers, Heyst (William Dafoe) and Alma (Irene Jacob), who seek refuge on Heyst's isolated island. However, their idyllic world begins to crumble upon the arrival of Mr Jones (Sam Neil), Martin Ricardo (Rufus Sewell) and their servant, Pedro (Graziano Marcelli), who have come to steal Heyst's rumoured plunder. While the novel is largely complex in characterization, the film sadly transposes Conrad's characters into lacklustre leads, the most disappointing being Heyst himself.
Conrad's Heyst adheres religiously to his late father's ways of detachment and isolation. His ascetic lifestyle is thrown into question when he meets Alma, a helpless orchestra girl who charms him with her voice. The struggle to embrace the arrival of Alma into his solitude, however, is lost in Mark Peploe's (director and writer) diluted version of Heyst. Without properly establishing the crucial details of Heyst's character, all that is left of Conrad's main character is a very shallow treatment of his internal conflict between detachment and human involvement. On the one hand, actualizing the subtext is a mammoth task (though not impossible), but on the other hand, Dafoe's flat acting cannot be excused as an attempt at stoicism. In the end, we are supposed to witness Heyst renounce his philosophy and finally come to an understanding of what it is to love another. The final transformation, while perceptible, lacks the cathartic revelation which is undeniable in Conrad's novel. Its absence in the film is unforgivable.
The film seems more concerned about moving the plot along when so much has yet to be said about the relationship between the two complete strangers. Alma is supposed to have overcome great emotional barriers in the relationship, namely Heyst's underlying philosophy of detachment, which Heyst himself grapples with. The struggle against Heyst's ignorance of true human involvement accounts for much of the greatness of Alma's love for him. Jacob, fair-skinned, gentle and yet passionate, handles the role with precision, detailing nuances where possible. Unfortunately, she is let down by a superficial script. The couple's relationship develops too hastily, leaving all subtlety effaced and replaced with a blatant show-and-tell approach.
All we know of the characters are mostly explained by their lines alone. This is unsatisfactory when so much of the turmoil experienced by the two stem from their buried thoughts and emotions. The sketchy handling of their relationship stands out as sorely as Dafoe's American accent (an inappropriate one since Heyst spent most of his life in London).
The other characters such as Schomberg (Jean Yanne), the owner of a hotel, and Mr Jones (Sam Neill) , also fall short of Conrad's meticulous characterization. While Schomberg should have been more menacing and vindictive, Mr Jones should have been portrayed as something more of an enigma. Sam Neil's caricature of a slightly stout, effeminate and soft-spoken gentleman-at-large nullifies the effect intended by Conrad who describes Mr Jones as "an insolent spectre on leave from Hades, endowed with skin and bones and a subtle power of terror".
Poor characterization aside, kudos goes to Rufus Sewell for his excellent portrayal of Ricardo, secretary to Mr Jones, a reckless ruffian capable of murder. Sewell, with his cockney accent and large expressive green eyes, becomes the true terror of the unholy trinity, masterminding deceitful plans behind Jones' back. At the same time, we are entertained by the foolhardiness of his plans.
Despite the authentic setting and marvellous cinematography by Bruno De Keyzer, very few images are left behind for us to savour after the film has ended. Sourabaya and its surrounding islands and volcanoes may have their charm, but mean nothing once the film fails to capture the essence of an epic, which is what Victory deserves to be. The delicately inter-woven complexities in the love story are lost to an inadequate production. At the end of the film, we are told that perhaps Alma's victory was in teaching Heyst how to love. A hollow victory indeed.
THE FLYING INKPOT's rating system: * Wait for the video. ** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha! *** Pretty good, bring a friend. **** Amazing, potent stuff. ***** Perfection. See it twice.
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