Venus (film)
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| Venus | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for the film |
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| Directed by | Roger Michell |
| Produced by | Kevin Loader |
| Written by | Hanif Kureishi |
| Starring | Peter O'Toole Leslie Phillips Jodie Whittaker Vanessa Redgrave |
| Music by | David Arnold Corinne Bailey Rae |
| Cinematography | Haris Zambarloukos |
| Editing by | Nicolas Gaster |
| Distributed by | UK: Buena Vista Pictures USA: Miramax Films |
| Release date(s) | 2006 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Venus is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 film staring Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Vanessa Redgrave and Jodie Whittaker. It is directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi.
The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was put on limited release in the United States on December 15, 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The plot concerns Maurice (O'Toole), an elderly actor who finds himself attracted to his friend's young great-niece Jessie (Whittaker). Maurice finds Jessie initially unfriendly but succeeds in befriending her in part due to the appeal of his celebrity status. He takes her to the National Gallery in London, England to view his favorite painting, The Rokeby Venus by the Spanish artist Velázquez. Maurice arranges for Jessie to model nude for an art class, partly because he is attracted to her and hopes to watch the artists at work. When he is asked to step out he finds a bucket to stand on so he can peep into the room but falls and is found out. As a result of Jessie posing for the art class he decides to give her the nickname "Venus". Maurice and Jessie develop a passive/aggressive friendship over the course of the film and she takes him to the sea where he dies in her arms.
[edit] Awards and reception
The film opened to generally positive reviews from American critics [1]. It was nominated for five British Independent Film Awards and earned Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globe nominations for O'Toole as Best Actor. Leslie Phillips also received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
O'Toole's Oscar nomination marked his eighth Best Actor nomination over a span of forty-five years.[2] However, on February 25, 2007 at the 79th Academy Awards, he was bested by Forest Whitaker, making his eight nominations without victory a record.
[edit] Cast
- Peter O'Toole as Maurice
- Leslie Phillips as Ian
- Jodie Whittaker as Jessie
- Vanessa Redgrave as Valerie
- Richard Griffiths as Donald
- Cathryn Bradshaw as Jillian
[edit] Trivia
- When O'Toole's Maurice quotes lines from Shakespeare's Macbeth, and Whittaker's Jessie doesn't recognize it, she replies by quoting the chorus from Kylie Minogue’s 1987 song, “I Should Be So Lucky" -- which Maurice doesn't recognize.
Later in the film, he quotes, in its entirety, Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Venus at the Internet Movie Database
- Review of Venus in ignore Magazine
- Venus Reviews at Metacritic
- 'Venus' director talks of talent and O'Toole
- Review from Rolling Stone
- Mansized Venus review
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