VENUS

Director: Roger Michel (Notting Hill, Changing Lanes)
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Jodie Whittaker, Leslie Phillips

Venus is the story of a dirty old man. Of course it's also a story about confronting death and the inevitability of our passing away. Maurice (O'Toole) is an aging actor, urbane and wickedly intelligent, at times cheeky and endearing, charming to the last, and at least to me, occasionally creepy (although I don't think the screenplay felt the same way). We're supposed to smile at him, and we do, as he cutely attends to the young girl who's come into his life (Whittaker), the grand neice of his good friend. As this friend tells him, he should be content with his life here near the end because he has been loved. Nonetheless, Maurice is not content. He's lived a life where his own pleasure is all that mattered. The young girl becomes his Venus, bringing love and hope into his life.

Unfortunately, just like in the old Greek mythologies, the gods are a bit erratic. She flounders in her feelings for the old man. She certainly likes the gifts he gives her, and at times obviously takes advantage of the old man's willingness to please. Of course, how is that any different from younger, more "normal" relationships, except perhaps in its scope. In the end she does come to love the old man, although undoubtedly not in the way that Maurice originally hoped. In the end, she comes to love him in a way that actually matters.

Maurice and his good friend Ian, another actor, spend their days marking the passing of their friends, and filling the time as they choose or as they must, seeing a play, or seeing the doctor. They well know they are nearing the end. They are by no means rich, but they have a great wealth of memories. They are minorly famous, or they once were. They've obviously led a rich life that's worth remembering.

One day Ian's troubled young grand neice moves in with her old relative, hoping to find a job in London. Ian is horrified by the intrusion of this lower-class child into his measured, urbane, and calm world. Maurice, however simply falls in love. We get the impression he's fallen in love a thousand times before, but this will be his last. He takes her to plays, buys her things, and attempts to seduce her. Though admitting his impotence, he notes his "theorhetical desire" to make love to her.

She is off put by his advances, basking in his attention, certainly pleased with his gifts, but not particularly happy with his touch. In time she runs off with a slimey young boy, who prods her to take advantage of the old man even more than she has. This ends badly for Maurice and for the girl, but they both find a measure of peace at the very end, when he quietly slips into eternal sleep.

The story is relatively simple, as every story of our endings should be. It's bittersweet, sad and yet funny. O'Toole is certainly marvelous. I do believe that his age limited him in some ways in this film, but he still gives a wonderful performance. He deserves his Oscar nomination. The film as a whole is quite nice, not great, not awful. It's a quiet little film, perfect for a dim, cold winter's night when all endings seem closer at hand. It will soon be forgotten when more exciting events shake it from our minds, but a short look at the end can only help our appreciation of the journey.

Standouts: The old standards of Brithish actors, O'Toole, Redgrave, Phillips, others.
Blowouts: The screenplay was just okay.

Grade: B