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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent character drama, February 2, 2007
Despite the hagiographic-sounding title, this film is not a work in praise of the novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand. Instead, it is a biopic, based on a book of the same title, written by Barbara Branden, an erstwhile close friend and high-ranking follower of Rand.
Two attractive young students, Nathaniel Blumenthal (who later changes his name to Nathaniel Branden) and Barbara Weitman (Eric Stoltz and Julie Delpy), are invited, following an enthusiastic letter, to meet their idol, Ayn Rand, at the home she shares with her husband Frank O'Connor (heartbreakingly portrayed by Peter Fonda) in California. Both are passionate devotees of her ideas of Objectivism, reason and self-interest, and find a willing guru in Rand, played with grim charisma by Helen Mirren.
While Nathan is attracted to Barbara, her feelings for him are closer to friendship - but under pressure from Rand, who argues that emotion is always based on reason and that therefore the young couple's shared ideals make them a perfect sexual match, the two of them marry. Their unsuccessful marriage, already intimately destructive since Nathaniel has taken it upon himself to act as Barbara's psychotherapist as well as her husband, seeking to eradicate the 'faulty principles' that make her uncomfortable with the relationship, is worsened when Rand and Nathaniel begin an affair, insisting that their prospective partners accept this sexual relationship as the necessary consequence of their mental compatibility. The tensions between the characters play out against the rising cult of the Nathaniel Branden Institute and the success of Atlas Shrugged, leading to moral and emotional chaos under the guise of reason and idealism.
Whether or not the film is an accurate depiction of the real situation is much debated, but as a character study, as a film in its own right, it's excellent. Rand, as portrayed by Mirren, comes across as a woman who argues for reason and individual rights, while in fact being ruled, and ruling all those around her, by her own emotions, a toxic and pathetic queen eternally refusing to see how human nature cannot measure up to her image of it. Stoltz as Nathaniel is a fine portrayal of a bright and not-all-that-bad young man, whose faults, a tendency to self-centredness and dishonesty, are horribly magnified by becoming the favourite disciple of an inconsistent guru, to his own harm as well as everyone else's. Delpy plays the confused, idealistic and fragile Barbara with integrity and passion, and Fonda's portrayal of the kind, weary, alcoholic Frank, clear-sighted about what's going on but too dependent on his wife, both financially and emotionally, to speak up, is downright tragic. There are splendid performances from a strong cast, with an involving story that encourages sympathy with flawed people. Rand supporters may not like it, as it portrays Rand, Branden and the Objectivist movement as fundamentally hypocritical and deluded, but neutral viewers will enjoy an engaging and unusual story, intelligently told and skilfully handled. Well worth a look.
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41 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nice production, no script--read the book instead, December 10, 2001
Barbara Branden's book is a clear-eyed view into the turbulent times when Ayn Rand lead the Objectivist Movement. Rand, a philosopher and novelist, had a circle of disciples around her, drawn by her magnetic and forceful personality as well as her bold philosophy that was antagonistic to liberals and conservatives alike. Despite the fundamental tenet that logic should determine one's emotions, the Objectivist movement was torn apart by the emotional fallout from an affair between Rand and her intellectual heir at that time, Nathaniel Branden. Barbara, his wife, wrote of these events in The Passion of Ayn Rand. Alas, this nicely produced movie lacks a script and relies on the assumption that the viewer will know the events and philosophy and fill in the blanks. That was a wrong assumption. A good script, showing Rand's dream of the heroic man and her inability to reconcile that with reality, plus her denial of facts that twisted her emotions, would have saved this film and given it coherent meaning. Instead, there was far too much Victim-Barbara (which is not how Barbara Branden portrayed herself in her book) and too little of what made Rand and her philosophy alluring to so many. The only thing they got right in Rand's portrayal was her quick wit and rapier repartee when questioned about her ideas. Helen Mirrin was a brilliant casting choice as Rand. Peter Fonda does a very true-to-the-book Frank O'Connor. Both Mirrin and Fonda look remarkably like Rand and O'Connor. But Eric Stolz is merely sleazy as Branden, who was not a sleaze even by Barbara's admission. Branden would have been better played by Kyle MacLachlan (Blue Velvet) and given a role as a deluded, manipulated idealistic young man, not an opportunistic bed-hopper. The jazz score, by the way, is wonderful. Oh well.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Passionate Individualist, January 26, 2007
While I have been an Ayn Rand fan for a short time and have not read Barbara Branden's book, this was one of the first movies about Ayn Rand I picked up. The chemistry between the actors and the charachters they play is excellent and all of the actors, especially Hellen Mirren, are very good in their roles. The script is good and so are the sets and production.
Hellen Mirren won an Emmy for her portayal of Rand and, after seeing this film, one can see why she did. Mirren's portayal of Ayn Rand is superb!
After watching this film, I came away admiring Rand even more. Rand was a wonderful human being, brilliant philosopher, excellent author and passionate about individuals to be free to pursue their own interests. It is understandable for her to be the way she was and believe in the things she did because she grew up in one of the most repressive, collectivist societies in world history: The Soviet Union.
Rand made it a point to live her life according to the individualist values she espoused. Same with Nathaniel and Barbara Branden. Thats why they congregated with each other to constantly formulate, practice and discuss Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. However, despite her enemy's crowing, in no way should this movie be considered a 'smear job'.
Essentially, what this movie is about is 2 individuals who end up falling in love (despite the fact they are both married), having sexual relations with the consent of their spouses, form and cultivate a philisophical movement and then it all collapses in the end.
Having extra-marital relations, even when the spouse knows about it, is destructive to everyone involved. In my view, Rand and Nathaniel Branden did not err when they did what they did since they did not hide their love for each other. Their mistake was that they both did not consider the long-term consequences of their actions nor the true feelings of their spouses.
I also appreciated the fact that Nathaniel Branden, whom I met at a conference briefly in 2003 and is a very nice man, owned up to his responsibilties in the matter as well and am glad that in later years, Barbara Branden and Ayn Rand reconciled. However, it is unfortunate that, like Barbara and Ayn, Nathaniel Branden and Ayn Rand did not forgive and forget.
This move is not an example of how dogmatic Rand allegedly was. Rather, it must serve as an example of what happens when people pursue sexual relations even while they are still married.
Otherwise, despite the negative reviews, this is a very good film and worth checking out. Its a keeper in my DVD library.
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