Venus - Preview
Preview by Jack Foley
ONE of the early highlights to emerge from the London Film Festival appears to have been Roger Michell’s latest film, Venus, which many have hailed as a classic tearjerker.
The film focuses on Maurice (Peter O’Toole) and Ian (Leslie Phillips), two veteran English actors and friends, who never hit the big time, but who have plenty of stories to tell. Maurice’s equanimity provides the perfect foil to Ian’s more irascible nature.
But their comfortable life is disrupted by the arrival of Ian’s niece, Jessie (Jodie Whittaker), who arrives from the North. Jessie claims she has been sent to look after him, but displays some awkward housekeeping talents, such as only being able to rustle up a Pot Noodle as food.
While Ian is dismayed, Maurice is taken with the girl and befriends her, serving as her guide to the city’s cultural sights, albeit not with entirely altruistic motives. The resolution of the story is said to give rise to several poignant moments.
Venus marks director Michell’s reunion with writer Hanif Kureishi (who worked with him on both The Buddha of Suburbia and The Mother). It is, like The Mother, a small, personal film that is devoid of any flashy touches.
Both O’Toole and Phillips are said to provide exemplary performances, with the former tipped for some glory in the forthcoming awards season. While even newcomer Jodie Whittaker is said to impress. Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Griffiths provide typically sterling support.
The London Film Festival credits the film with being “wry, affectionate and very moving”, declaring the coming-of-very-old-age story “an unmissable gem”.
Michell, meanwhile, continues to build on an impressive CV, which has seen him mixing bigger budget mainstream movies such as Notting Hill, Enduring Love and Changing Lanes with smaller, more intimate work such as The Mother.
It is due to open in UK cinemas later this year and really ought not to be missed by any fans of performance-based cinema.