Customer Reviews

Color Me Kubrick

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

***1/2

"Color Me Kubrick" will remind you a bit of Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me if You Can," in which Leonardo Di Caprio played a world-class con artist who duped people into believing he was a myriad of Very Important People whom he was really not. In "Colour Me Kubrick," the imposter is a man named Alan Conway who goes about London telling people he is the famed (and famously reclusive) director, Stanley Kubrick, in order to bum rides, free drinks and even sexual favors off of them. I guess it's appropriate that I just happened to catch this film on April 1st of all days.

Written by Andrew Frewin and directed by Brian W. Cook, "Color Me Kubrick" is clearly a godsend for its star, John Malkovich, who seems to be having the time of his movie-acting life doing this role. Malkovich tailors his demeanor and accent to fit the audience to whom he is playing, running the gamut from Capote-esque fey for his gay "clients" (Conway is himself gay) to regular-guy macho for his straight targets. Yet, Malkovich never resorts to mere playacting to create his effect; by fully inhabiting the character, he keeps Conway from descending into a merely clownish figure and allows him to register as a fully developed human being.

Unfortunately, although the screenplay is frequently witty and even downright hilarious at times, the movie itself is never quite as good as Malkovich is in it. Despite its overall originality, there's an innate one-note quality to the setup that the movie cannot completely shake, so that, even at a mere eighty-six minutes, the conceit tends to wear a bit thin after awhile. The filmmakers somewhat make up for that weakness by also showing us the means by which Conway is eventually unmasked for all the world to see. There are also a number of surprisingly poignant moments in the film in which we are shown just how sad, lonely and pathetic an individual Conway really is. The most touching sequence comes when a movie-savvy young man in a bar uncovers Conway's ruse by trapping him with a trick Stanley Kramer question. As Conway slinks away from the scene humiliated and crestfallen, we can clearly see why Malkovich is one of the finest actors of his generation.

Beyond the Conway character, the film provides a gently satirical jab at our culture's overwhelming obsession with celebrity and our willingness to suspend critical judgment on a person or a scheme if we can discern a benefit for ourselves by doing so. For, indeed, virtually everyone who allows himself to be duped by this impersonator has starry-eyed dreams of one day making it big in either the entertainment business or the world of corporate financing. Conway has merely come up with a clever way of exploiting that obsession for his own personal benefit.

There's also something wryly humorous in the fact that, although Kubrick is universally recognized as being one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, his face was so unfamiliar to both the general populace and even people in the movie industry that Conway was able to pull this ruse off for so long without getting caught. Can anyone imagine an individual trying that same stunt with Spielberg, Tarantino, Scorsese, etc.?

This is a slight but endearing comedy that is a must-see for John Malkovich fans.

I finally ordered this DVD at the urging of a friend and ardent movie buff. I'm glad I took his advice. Directed by Brian Cook, "Color Me Kubrick" stars John Malkovich as a real-live con-artist whose real name is Alan Conway. As gay as pink lemonade, Conway-- aptly named-- "cons" a lot of people into giving him money and expensive gifts by posing as the reclusive film director Stanley Kubrick. The movie belongs to Malkovich for his camp over-the-top performance that delights the viewer for 90 minutes or so. His costumes defy description and have to be seen to be believed. There are lots of hooty moments here as Conway convinces his unwary victims that he is Kubrick. Only rarely is he found out. In one scene he rattles off a list of his films-- he is always working on some new project and might use the talents of his latest quest-- and includes "Judgment at Nuremberg" as one of his. At least he got the "Stanley" correct since Stanley Kramer directed that one.

There are references here and there throughout the film to Kubrick movies including much of the music he used. In addition to being a sad commentary ultimately about a man who is no one but a no one who gets away with this hoax-- he ultimately meets his waterloo when the American journalist Frank Rich meets him and exposes him-- "Color Me Kubrick" makes a statement about celebrity worship.

Although a much better film, "Six Degrees of Separation" is also based on a true story of a gay man (Will Smith) who poses as Sidney Poitier's son and fools a lot of the pretentious New York art world for a season. While two examples of gay people impersonating the rich and famous do not a significant statistical sample make, perhaps the phenomenon should be further explored.

"Color Me Kubrick" is the true story of a how a man pretended to be Stanley Kubrick, during the time Kubrick was filming "Eyes Wide Shut." The man was Alan Conway, who looked nothing like Kubrick (a known recluse) and knew little about his films. In "Color Me Kubrick," Conway is played by John Malkovich, sporting several phony accents and whose performance is campy, but accurate. The film is low on plot; We simply watch Conway con people into thinking he's Kubrick, so he can take advantage of them for free money, free drinks, free cab fare, free sex, etc. Eventually, as his victims begin to grow in number, newspapers begin to catch on. Since John Malkovich is in almost every scene of the film, he's the person that truly carries it. Any fan of Malkovich will tell you that his performance works best when he's using his regular voice; There's a cold, reserved, iciness to it...It seems whenever he breaks away from his bad guy roles into his good guy roles, his voice will change ('Of Mice & Men' & 'Shadow of the Vampire'). Here it changes a lot, but his performance is nevertheless great. The story is very interesting too, because Conway managed to convince so many people and actually ruined people's lives as a result of pretending to be someone he wasn't. In a bit of irony to end all irony, Conway died three months before Kubrick of a heart attack. The film, which was released on DVD and in some theatres at the same time (usually, in my opinion, a bad sign to the quality of the film), is very well made; Filled with in-jokes and little bits of Kubrick trivia. The movie uses a soundtrack that frequently incorporates legendary music from Kubrick's films (music from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange," and more...). One scene, where Conway is asked about his next film and who is going to be in it, he answers; "John Malkovich. But Warner Brothers says he's not big enough to carry the film." The film is not perfect, I would've liked to know a little more about Conway...Why he chose Kubrick, why he chose to impersonate anybody at all, his past before impersonating Kubrick...But for the kind of movie it is, "Color Me Kubrick" is a mildly funny, very entertaining film with a great performance by John Malkovich and is worth checking out if you're a fan of Kubrick or Malkovich.

GRADE: B

I've always been a huge Stanley Kubrick and a huge John Malkovich fan so I was thrilled to see COLOR ME KUBRICK. I'm not sure what other people will think, but this film was interesting and fun, especially when you consider it was based on a true story.

For the Kubrick fan, certain shots as well as the music will resonate, reminding you of Kubrick's films. Both the writer and the director were both long-time Kubrick associates and the extras on the DVD are well worth watching to hear their take on the director and this film.

And Malkovich is hilarious. He's frivolous, flamboyant, drunk--in short, he's a wreck but always amusing to watch. That he changes accents from scene to scene is hilarious in itself. The rest of the cast is also very funny. Look fast for British director Ken Russell as a mental patient (he's the one with the black-faced doll screeching in a reference to SPARTACUS, "I am Stanley Kubrick! I am Stanley Kubrick!").

Not for everyone, but fun for those who are interested.

The best way to approach this film, I discovered, is by not knowing Kubrick's body of work too well and by not looking for specific Kubrick references in it.

I generally detest John Malkovich, for personal reasons and because he has a one-act, smarmy screen persona he rarely abandons. He uses it here, but I agree with some of the other critics that he performs well. Malkovich manages to bring some life into the character of Alan Conway (which was not his real name...though we may never know what it was, I understand his real name was Eddie Alan Jablowsky).

Though the embarrassing scenes and predicaments "Conway" creates can at times seem too much, a little over the top for my taste, it is altogether a brilliant effort. This film is not best viewed as a comedy. Conway deceived and hurt many, many people including his son Martin.

One must view this film as a tragicomic statement about celebrity, what it means, and what people think of it. Even more, the film illustrates beautifully the slavishness of people wishing to attain celebrity, even if only to bask in its afterglow.

Apparently the slavishness is the reason so many were taken by this conman who was once a successful travel agent. According to his son, "Conway" was a haplessly compulsive liar ('pathological liar' works well too). Malkovich does play this well. Further, I felt the film was beautifully festooned with music from Kubrick's films; it was well shot and extremely well directed. Its comic moments are few; nonetheless they are great, relevant and revelatory.

"Conway" died in December 1998, at his apartment in Harrow after alcoholism treatment. Though the official report was coronary thrombosis, it is suspected that he was murdered: a large bruise was found on the back of his neck. His son Martin heard a message on the answering machine that voiced a threat. Oddly, Kubrick, who "Conway" pretended to be throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, was said to have been fascinated by the whole thing. The notoriously reclusive, thrice-married Kubrick died three months later.

This film is pure cinema-lover stuff, though its basis on a true story is a very wise move. It did not pepper the audience with 'made-up true stories' like most films do. I'd say as film it is a matter of taste. Malkovich is steady and controlled: it takes discipline to pull off such a revolting, sloppy character. The co-stars are charming, and I will add finally that this movie was quite revealing about gay English life in the 1990s.

I wouldn't buy it myself, but I'd say it is well worth it in general.

This movie is a highly enjoyable tale of an imposer pretending to be Stanley Kubrick, taking everyone for a ride, and getting away with it easily. John Malkovich is delicious as gay Alan Conway posing as Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick is said to have been intrigued by Conway and the movie reflects this silliness and mischievousness. The movie is also a tale of debauchery that goes unpunished and thus serves no moral value. Then again, who needs moral fiber in a movie this entertaining?

Never wanted it to end. The peripheral characters are wonderful - the gullible and the not-so-gullible. It's amazing that this sociopath was able to get away with impersonating the great director for so long. Whatever - mostly, it's a hilarious comedy in which Malkovich (as one reviewer put it snidely, but for me was what made it great) really chews the scenery. The costumes are brilliant - the posing, the accents (different for every con) - it all made me howl with laughter. You could say this film is a "guilty pleasure" since you know what he's doing to people is bad, bad, bad, but you can't help wanting more, more, more. In the end, the imposter went unpunished, and died of "natural" causes. That's a little hard to swallow. One wanted him to get his legal comeuppance. Anyway, it's hard to find truly wicked, witty, funny comedies these days, and this is one of them. (Another is "Death At A Funeral." If you liked that, you'll probably like this one.)

An absolute delight, I thought this was going to be some type of biography or tribute, never expected a comedy. If you're a Kubrick fan, there are many references to his films. Terrific use of music from Kubrick films.
It says more about people wanting to be close to stardom, willing to believe anything. It's both sad and funny.

Malkovich is absolutely brilliant in this movie.

Very few capture a character like that man.

John Malkovich was perfect for this movie. I found myself chuckling a lot throught the film. Interesting story.