![Loving Vincent [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81DO7RJClKL._AC_UL140_SR140,140_.jpg)
Let me preface this review with a bit of my own background, as regards what I was hoping for, in this little-known film about the incomparable creative genius, Vincent van Gogh:
I have been a life-long admirer of his art, both the paintings and his voluminous , intensely personal correspondence with his art-dealer brother, Theo. I've been to Amsterdam, solely to see many of his originals, in the Van Gogh Museum there. I own numerous books about his life and art, including the complete three volume set of his letters to Theo, which director Robert Altman reportedly used as the backbone of this film. I have read Irving Stone's 1934 classic piece of historical fiction, "Lust For Life" probably half a dozen times, and own the 1956 Kirk Douglas movie version as well. My home is filled with various reproductions of Vincent's art, including even many of his charcoal sketch works, and a few more expensive oil reproductions, too. He is my favorite artist, and was my personal introduction to art in general, when at the unknowing age of 14 I stumbled into the Impressionist wing at the Art Institute in Chicago (my home town), and found myself transfixed in front of "The Sower". I doubt I'll ever be the same. Even my first kiss from a girl comes in second to the magic of that moment.
So you can see, when I stumbled on the many favorable reviews for this movie ("Vincent and Theo") on this site (half of the 25 reviews to date consider this a 5 star movie), I bought a copy, sight unseen, hoping that the iconoclastic director Robert Altman would finally capture the full scope and intensity of Vincent Van Gogh's creative genius, as well as the endearing true story of Vincent's special relationship to his brother Theo. The script for that hardly needed much revision from the screen writer (Julian Mitchell), as Vincent's letters are as complete a script as has ever been written, as an unintentional autobiography of the man, and his art.
"Vincent and Theo", directed by Altman, was released in 1990, but not available on the current dvd till 2005. It's rather long (140 minutes), yet makes a number of significant short-cuts, in order to concentrate on the brother's relationship, rather than the full story of Vincent's turbulent life. A major omission is Vincent's early attempts at being a minister, in the Borinage mining town of Belgium, where to this day he is known as "The Christ of the Coalyards", for his singular, selfless devotion to his work. An important omission for this film, as several times in "Vincent and Theo" Vincent makes comments about his lost faith, and it's clear that shaped both his subsequent life and art in a great way.....yet this movie gives us no glimpse into WHY he felt that way. I didn't think this emphasis on the brother's relationship was wrong in and of itself, as clearly Vincent spent his entire creative life dependent on Theo for both financial and emotional support.....indeed, it was only through Theo's (and subsequently his wife, Johanna's)belief in the quality of Vincent's art, at a time when no one considered him a serious artist,that his art even survived. The major fault I have in this movie, however, is simply that I didn't find the portrayals of the principal characters to be all that accurate. And more importantly, despite the unique artistry of Altman's many films, I didn't feel like it adequately captured the genius of the artist.
Tim Roth plays Vincent, in a portrayal a little too heavy on the unbalanced side- but clearly that's how Altman intended it to be. In the accompanying documentary with the extras on this dvd, Altman starts right off by saying of Vincent, from HIS take on Vincent's letters, that he saw Vincent as entirely selfish, "always asking for money", and clearly just "mad as a hatter". Suffice it to say, personally I think that is an amazingly shallow take on the real man, and it comes to make Roth's portrayal throughout this film also somewhat shallow, however intensely acted. Roth visually looks much like Vincent, though perhaps a bit too slight of frame- the real Vincent was by all accounts (and despite his seemingly endless state of malnutrition and abject poverty) a physically imposing man. 4-5 stars for Roth's commitment to the role as given to him, but 1-2 stars for the depth of the portrayal.
Paul Rhys plays brother Theo, a respected art dealer of that time, and a tireless champion for the unkown but emerging school of post-impressionist artists, of whom Vincent would eventually emerge as their champion. The real Theo was clearly devoted to Vincent, and made countless financial and emotional sacrifices on the artist's behalf. He probably also died from tertiary syphilis (affecting the brain), in an asylum in Utrecht, just 6 months after Vincent's suicide. But again, as played by Rhys in this film, Theo emerges as a constantly twitchy, emotionally bizarre individual, who clearly cares for Vincent, but the glue that bound them so inseparably was just missing in this, for me. Rhys also bears little, if any, resemblance to the real Theo, who so resembled Vincent that one of the self-portraits of the artist is now believed by many to actually be a portrait of Theo.I suppose I have a much longer, detailed explanation for this, and I know many who rated this film so highly would simply disagree on this point, but for me, it lessened the overall impact of this film.
Perhaps more glaring is actress Johanna ter Steege's portrayal of Theo's wife, Johanna. Their first name seems to be the only thing the actress and the real woman share in common. It was solely through Johanna's faithful persistence in keeping Vincent's art, after the death of the two brothers, that any of it even survives today. She clearly had a deep love and caring for Vincent, and this simply is nowhere to be found in ter Steege's portrayal.
There are many supporting characters that are better portrayed in this one, especially Wladimir Yordanoff's take on Paul Gauguin, but the heart of this movie is clearly in the two brothers.
The cinematography is well-done, with many on-location shots where Vincent created his better known masterpieces, especially his amazing burst of creative activity while in Arles, St. Remy, and Auvers, in the last months/days of his life. We see the fields of sunflowers that exploded onto his canvases. We see the waving wheatfields, the intense sun and mistral wind of southern France, and even the swarming black crows, over that final wheatfield. One scene that was absent, however, that I think would have been a powerful one, is Vincent under a starry night, while he was a patient at St.Remy. Opportunity missed, there.
The musical score I found way over-the-top, and even distracting. I'm sure it was intended to be a musical translation of the inner turmoil going on in the artist's mind, but for me it was overdone, and there was also almost no soft, tender, or sad music- odd for a man who was so clearly and intensely acquainted with deep, deep sorrow.
The inevitable movie comparison is to the 1956 version, "Lust For Life", starring Kirk Douglas as Vincent, and Anthony Quinn as Gauguin (for which Quinn won an academy award).Theo in that movie, however, was a rather minor character, though the actor still managed, IMO, to convey more of the caring relationship Theo had for his tormented brother. "Lust For Life" is a much more conventional, structured bio...."Vincent and Theo" was shooting for something more than that. A noble attempt, but for my money, it still falls short. Far short.
I'd recommend "Vincent and Theo" to those who, like myself, are devoted admirers of the artist. For the casual viewer, however, I'm afraid it will only be a once-viewed flick, and for that reason, I'd rent, but not buy.
BTW: this movie is rated PG-13, entirely because of several brief scenes involving nudity- all of which are entirely appropriate for the story, as they all involve models posing for Vincent's work. Zero gratuitous nudity as far as sex goes, and no profanity whatsoever. Intense themes throughout, though, so probably not all that appropriate for children.
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A. R. B. Simpson
Interesting but flawed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2015Amazon Customer
A great insight into the turbulent soul of this talented artist ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2018
