Venus

Venus
by Roger Michell

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Beatrice Savoretti, Leslie Phillips, Lolita Chakrabarti, Peter O'Toole, Philip Fox
Director: Roger Michell
Brand: O'TOOLE,PETER
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-05-22
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax

Movie Reviews of Venus

Movie Review: Quirky, Funny, and touching...
Summary: 4 Stars

It isn't difficult to summarize a film with an elderly lead; they nearly always detail a failing body and mind, ending in a sad but inevitable death. It is to the credit of director Roger Mitchell, writer Hanif Kureishi, and especially stars Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, and Vanessa Redgrave, that "Venus" is a little treasure, embracing the ravages of age and vaguries of love, both physically and spiritually, with a nearly 'gallows' humor that is irresistable.

Director Mitchell, with tongue in cheek, has described the film as "Dirty old man falls for sluttish girl", but the May/December relationship between newcomer Jodie Whittaker and O'Toole has a poignancy reminiscent of Burt Lancaster's unrequited pursuit of Susan Sarandon in "Atlantic City"; she teases him, then backs away, and his longing combines the frustrations of old age with the bittersweet memories of the Lothario he once was. As O'Toole's character is a respected stage and screen actor in his waning years, it isn't difficult to imagine these moments having special meaning for him (fortunately, O'Toole is in very good health!) Eventually, the kinkiness of the pair's relationship blossoms into something sweeter and more enduring, tempered by a tragedy, and quite moving.

Yes, the film does end the way you'd expect it to, but in a small way, what the pair shared together improves the lives of the people around them, and the girl can face the future with a confidence he nurtured in her. Old age and death may be a 'damned nuisance', but O'Toole reminds us that the human heart is ageless...

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Summary of Venus

Academy Award? nominee Peter O'Toole (2006 Best Actor) leads a powerful cast to deliver a charming and poignant portrayal of Maurice, an aging veteran actor who becomes absolutely taken with Jessie - the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit of his wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don't know about themselves. Featuring brilliant performances from a superb supporting cast, VENUS is a witty and wise celebration of how the greatest lessons in life can come from the most unlikely places.

Peter O'Toole adds another Great One to his list of indelible performances: as Maurice, a frail but defiantly horny London actor in his sunset, O'Toole lays bare his weathered face and sophisticated soul for a marvelous portrait of mortality. Maurice, who mostly hangs out counting pills and parsing obituaries with his fellow old-trouper Ian (Leslie Phillips), is roused to play Pygmalion one final time... not on stage, but in life, as Ian's gauche, callow niece (Jodie Whittaker) comes to live with her uncle. It would be very easy to turn this set-up into a heartwarming drama, but screenwriter Hanif Kureishi (My Beautiful Laundrette) has never been one to warm hearts. Unless it's on his own terms. As Maurice takes his Venus under his frail wing and imparts a few old-school instructions to this junk-culture lass, Kureishi and director Roger Michell hit just the right notes of clumsiness, grace, and regret. Everybody's good in the film; Jodie Whittaker does nicely by the task of creating a rather ordinary young woman, and Vanessa Redgrave turns up as Maurice's patient, long-suffering ex (about whom there is nothing ordinary). But it's O'Toole's show, and the grand old actor gives a performance without a hint of grandness, except where it might fit. When he sighs a valedictory, "There really isn't anything else," you know a life's experiences and mistakes are distilled in the wisdom. --Robert Horton

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