The Passion of Ayn Rand
by Christopher Menaul
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eric Stoltz, Helen Mirren, Julie Delpy, Peter Fonda, Sybil TemtchineDirector: Christopher Menaul
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-02-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Showtime Ent.
Movie Reviews of The Passion of Ayn Rand
Movie Review: Hypocrisy On Rand's Part
Summary: 3 Stars
I was a student of Ayn Rand's philosophy and a patient of Mr. Branden's several decades ago, in the early 70's. Why? Because I was trying in vain to live as Ms. Rand said we should: as heroic figures every day, perfect in our morals, that we should aspire to be as perfect as the impossibly perfect,cold, robotic main characters of her novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shugged. The only book of hers I read several times was We The Living as the characters were most like flesh and blood and real.
While I was going to Group at Mr. Branden's house I had no idea that he'd had an affair with Ayn Rand as it was apparently known only to some insiders I'd guess. Had I known, I would have immediately ended the relationship. As it was he was totally ineffectual as a therapist, barely able to stay awake while we spoke, and like comic shrinks in movies, lets you answer your own questions when you're paying HIM to! Years later, 15 free minutes with Dr. Laura on the radio fixed the problem I had (guilt over the death of a family member.)
The upside of all this:I did know Patrecia who was changed to another fictional woman in the movie. She was a Goddess. All the men loved her, all the women wanted to BE her. She was the essence of joy and life and she died way too young....slight epilepsy that was caused by strobing sunlight dancing off the pool whereupon she had a seizure and fell into the water, drowning.
Now I see that the high moral standards we underlings were supposed to uphold were completely tossed out the window by Ms. Rand and Mr. Branden. Barbara Brandon's book also reported that Ms. Rand was often under the influence of some seriously strong amphetamines and I'm sure if she saw I had done the same thing , she'd have blasted me for not having the moral courage to go through life without artificial courage.
I admire Ms. Rand for her works and her diligent fight against Communism (she is reeling in her grave at where our country stands now!), but it turned out to be do as I say, not as I do. I wasted a lot of years trying to be what she thought we should all aspire to. We can't. It's an impossibility. We are human, with human frailties which she and Nathaniel obviously both succumbed to. You just can't change Nature, which Ayn hated because she only loved that which was man-made. You can take some of this philosophy, but toss out what isn't right for you, otherwise you're a round peg in a very tight, painful square hole.
I believe this movie was a hatchet job to discredit her as she always stated:
"The best way to destroy greatness is to celebrate the mediocre." Or words to that affect.
Just look at who eats up all the news 7 days a week: Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lindsey, Anna-Nicole, etc, ad nauseum!
Atlas Shrugged is rumored to be in the works with Angelina Jolie, but don't hold your breath.
Summary of The Passion of Ayn Rand
Passion is not one of those words usually associated with the controversial author Ayn Rand, unless one is speaking of her controversial ideas. Her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged made egoism a virtue, and her philosophy of objectivism, which she defiantly trumpeted in the face of criticism, proclaimed self-interest was a patriotic virtue. For 15 years she also used her philosophy to justify an affair with her "intellectual heir" (as she proclaimed him) Nathaniel Branden. This made-for-cable drama, based on the memoir by Barbara Branden (Nathaniel's wife), hones in on this clash between her ideas and her emotions. Helen Mirren is sharp and intense as the demanding, often icy Rand, playing down her striking features to become severe and plain. Eric Stoltz brings an insidious mix of charm and calculation to Nathaniel, a sycophantic devotee who espouses the gospel of intellectual honesty while compromising himself at every turn. Peter Fonda and Julie Delpy are the wounded spouses who endure their open affair. It's an unusually handsome film for a cable production, and the cool jazz score beautifully sets both the era and the mood of the film. Director Christopher Menaul, who previously directed Mirren in the brilliant British miniseries Prime Suspect, is fascinated by the hypocrisies justified by love and jealousy. While he's critical of Rand's philosophy and the cultlike following it spawns, he is nonetheless respectful of her intellect and devotion to her ideas, contradictions and all. --Sean AxmakerDrama DVD Video
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