I have seen are Lust For Life where Kirk Douglas played Van Gogh and I felt this was very entertaining drama. The only other one I've seen was Loving Vincent which came out in 2017, which was impressive piece of work. Mainly due to the fact that it became the first ever film to be done completely in oil paint. The sheer achievement of every frame being oil painted was a joy to watch on screen and I urge everyone to check that one out.
In regards to this latest portrayal, I rather enjoyed this and appreciated the purposeful style and look of it. Early on, I could feel that I was watching the character of Van Gogh of instead of Defoe the actor, which put me at ease. After that, I could really feel the struggles that everyone is aware of that Van Gogh experienced. The longer the film went on, the stronger my engagement was and I think it was the strongest I've had in any Van Gogh film.
I felt Willem Defoe gave us a very convincing performance and I could totally see why he was recognised for his efforts with his Oscar nomination.
His support with Oscar Isaac's character in particular was great to see develop on screen as well and could be an aspect that may go under the radar with other reviews.
I was impressed by the cinematography at certain times. The camera gave us moments that makes you feel like what Van Gogh sees and puts to canvas, which I felt was very clever and certainly made me feel what it was like in Van Gogh's shoes and how he was treated by the people around him.
I loved the locations used for this and I believe the majority of them were the actual ones that Van Gogh himself was at during the points in his life that the film was showing.
From the same director as the terrific The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, it might not have the complete package of said film, but this is still a pretty good piece of work that gave us a strong portrayal of Van Gogh and gave me the clearest understanding of how misunderstood he was.
I think director Julian Schnabel and his team did a great job of capturing the spirit of the character and the story that for me gave us a high level of authenticity.
I think the only reason for me preventing this from giving an exceptional rating, was probably my awareness of the story that I already had of the story. Maybe if some aspects were a bit more experimental, that might have had more striking and memorable imagery could have swayed me to a higher mark.
But I still feel this was very well made and I think this is a very accessible film that mainstream audiences can get something out of.
It's really weird that this has had a very small release in the UK and America, despite its Oscar recognition and the story involving one of the most famous painters with a story that many people would be interested by. But I would recommend you check this out. But you may have to go out of your way to look for it.
Rating: 7/10
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