SURVIVING PICASSO
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginnning 9/27/96 (limited) Running Length: 2:03 MPAA Classification: R (Mature themes, nudity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone, Julianne Moore, Joss Ackland, Peter Eyre, Jeanne Lapotaire, Diane Venora, Joan Plowright Director: James Ivory Producers: Ismail Merchant and David L. Wolper Screenplay: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on PICASSO: CREATOR AND DESTROYER by Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington Cinematography: Tony Pierce-Roberts Music: Richard Robbins U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
For the second consecutive movie (following last year's unsuccessful JEFFERSON IN PARIS), director James Ivory is sticking to a fact-based story. Bringing in Anthony Hopkins (HOWARDS END, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY), fresh from essaying the lead character in Oliver Stone's NIXON, was probably his best move. Relying on the Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's superficial and ill-focused script was probably his worst. SURVIVING PICASSO is a passable film, but it's far from the kind of powerful motion pictures the producer/director team of Merchant/Ivory was turning out just a few years ago.
Merchant/Ivory at their best means thought-provoking, emotionally wrenching drama that affects both heart and mind. HOWARDS END and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY are both amazing feats of film making -- deep, resonant studies of repression. SURVIVING PICASSO isn't close to the same level. This shallow, almost-trite movie details Picasso's interactions with one of his many mistresses without ever giving us a meaningful portrayal of any of the characters involved, including the painter and the woman. We go into a film like this expecting a full meal, but emerge never having gotten to the entree.
SURVIVING PICASSO is often like a tabloid account of one decade during the great painter's life. The film is primarily concerned with Picasso's affair with Francoise Gilot (Natascha McElhone), who was his mistress and companion from 1946 through 1953. But, although Gilot's relationship with Picasso is the focus, the movie still offers us glimpses of the other four major women in his life: his first wife, Olga (Jeanne Lapotaire); his mistress, Marie-Therese Walter (Susannah Harker); his mistress, Dora Marr (Julianne Moore); and his second wife, Jacqueline (Diane Venora). There are moments when SURVIVING PICASSO rises above the ongoing soap opera of Francoise's attempts to make a life with her older lover -- brief discussions of painting, Picasso's adept handling of art dealers, and an enjoyable interlude with Henri Matisse (Joss Ackland). During these sequences, Ivory's movie shines, but they represent a minority of the two-plus hour running time.
Of course, it can be argued that no film with Anthony Hopkins could be all bad. In fact, since winning the Academy Award for Hannibal the Cannibal, I can only recall two sub-par performances (FREEJACK and THE INNOCENT). His Picasso is nothing to be ashamed of: passionate, charismatic, and enigmatic. Though he puts Francoise through hell, he is never intentionally cruel, nor is he ever abusive or violent. Picasso, as presented here, can often be short-tempered, insensitive, and neglectful, but he is never blatantly hurtful. Hopkins displays all of the painter's faults while exhibiting a vulnerability that allows us to sympathize with him. Often, Picasso comes across much like a child - - happy and energetic when he gets his way; bad-tempered and obstreperous when he doesn't.
Newcomer Natascha McElhone, who plays Francoise, has an attractive enough face and figure, but doesn't display great range. She's fine in most of the low-key scenes, but doesn't appear comfortable with displays of deep emotion. Of the supporting performers, Julianne Moore stands out as the most memorable. Her Dora Marr, a hardened, bitter woman, gives us a keen sense of the lasting damage Picasso is capable of inflicting.
Those who approach SURVIVING PICASSO hoping for insight into the artistic influences and philosophies of the painter will be disappointed. This film is little more than a series of loosely- connected vignettes about an aging man engaged in a sexual relationship with a woman young enough to be his daughter. Even that would be okay if there was real depth and energy to their interactions, but, even given the acting talents of Anthony Hopkins, SURVIVING PICASSO can't manage better than spotty character development. Occasionally, Francoise and Picasso come across as real individuals, but rarely do they click as a couple. There's never any heat, even when Francoise first disrobes in front of the painter (in fact, considering Hopkins' startled reaction, this scene is actually more funny than erotic).
With Ismail Merchant producing, James Ivory directing, and Anthony Hopkins starring in a film based on the life of one of the most colorful and influential artists of this century, a movie-goer is justified in expecting a film of epic scope. SURVIVING PICASSO definitely doesn't fit the bill, and, as a result, represents the second straight disappointment to come from Merchant/Ivory.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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