Venus

More Mother than Notting Hill. Peter O'Toole is brilliant -- creepy, lovable, objectionable and yet so vulnerable as the aging, forgotten actor in this "kind of makes you squirm in your seat" love/obsession story. I viewed it at the closing night of the Chicago International Film Festival. The tone and feel of the film places you squarely in Maurice's (O'Toole) gloomy, last chapter of life journey as well as Jesse's (Jodie Whittiker) bratty, just getting her own life started journey. Outstanding cinematography, score and music. Wonderfully haunting! V. Redgrave is terrific and beautiful. Oscar's all around for this funny, sometimes creepy, real look at two people finding each other at the most unexpected time in their lives.

If Peter O'Toole's mesmerizing, fearless, and endearing performance was the only positive aspect of Venus, it would still be well worth seeing.

I was pleasantly surprised that the sharp wit and general delightfulness promised by the theatrical trailer for this film delivered the goods.

Like the critically acclaimed and popular film from 2004, Sideways, this well-written bittersweet comedy celebrates what is means to be fully human by presenting us with complex, flawed characters who don't always behave the way they should- and our hearts end up bleeding for them as much when they're bad as when they're good.

With the simple story line about an aging British stage actor who develops an "interest" in his best friend's great niece, Venus artfully widens into a realistic exploration of how different relationships in our lives fulfill some needs, but not all, and how aging threatens aspects of our identity, but leaves other core pieces intact.

The scenes with "Maurice" and his actor friends are absolutely delightful and perfectly executed. The two wonderful scenes between "Maurice" and his estranged wife (a marvel of a performance by Vanessa Redgrave) are both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

The core of the story- the not-so-kosher, yet not-nearly-as-revolting as-you-might-think relationship between "Maurice" and "Jessie" (an impressive Jodie Whitaker) avoids all clichés and predictability found in Hollywood movies, and presents the viewers with a believable, engrossing slice of life, and fully invests them with an emotional stake in these characters' outcomes.

Venus is an expertly acted, beautifully written little gem that hopefully will not get lost among the more hyped (and over-blown) late year offerings. If The Academy decides to reward Mr. O'Toole with an Oscar for this performance, it will be one that is well deserved and won't be dismissed as "the sentimental choice." Treat yourself to the best adult comedy of 2006, and one of the best performances of the year.

There is poetry to Peter O'Toole's performance in "Venus"; it is so effortless, so seamless, so beyond "acting" that it tempts the rest of us to give up and hand in our union cards. No actor in memory has so finely embraced with voice Shakespeare's "Shall I compare thee to a summers day...". This is as fine a vintage as you'll ever find! Perfection. Roger Michell delivers a superb cast all around. Jodie Whitaker hands in a lovely nuanced performance, especially for a newcomer. Together with O'Toole, Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths present a marvelous portrait of aging actors. Michell deftly makes us laugh at some things simply because it hurts too much to weep. This is such a beautifully layered and rich film one may want to revisit it time and again.

This is one of those movies that grows on you once the credits are done. Quickly paced, sharply written and deftly acted, Venus is a movie that unfolds so quickly that one is immersed in the action from the very start.

The background is actors living off small pensions and acting jobs in working class London. The cinematography catches the dullness of the surroundings and one is easily transported into this world of sameness, peppered by occasional wonderful lapses back into the magic of acting and well written lines. Their world, and also the girl's world is turned upside down by meeting one another.

O'Toole is wonderful as Maurice, the ex-raconteur who proves that love, lust, flirtation and marvel are attributes that never go away with age. It's a delight to see these feelings rekindled in the old man, and O'Toole is the master of bringing zest and poignancy to the screen. Just going to see him quote Shakespeare is worth it alone. The setting in which he does it is unexpected and moving.

Jodie Whitaker is indeed a fresh new face. Without airs, this actress expertly matches wits with O'Toole. She conveys the right amount of grittiness, insecurity and bravado as a teenage girl thrust into the big city without a concrete plan would. The growth in her character takes place when an event that she has caused takes place, and she must either own up to what she has done, or forever be stuck in the life as a yob's girlfriend.

Vanessa Redgrave and all the others round out an honest cast that isn't afraid to let "Hollywood" see their age. This is acting "sans botox," and what a delight it is to see. This is smart writing, good thinking, and gutsy in a day when actors are expected to look a certain way even in old age. It's a delight, and trounces all stereotypes about aging.

There are lines here which are utterly breathtaking in their insight and playfulness. The writer is to be applauded for not falling back on the "senior citizen" stereotype. O'Toole's character swoons, he drinks in the quixotic experience of remembering the beauty of a naked body, of kissing a woman's neck, of the entire and total experience of falling in love, of pleasure, and of jealousy and of heartbreak as well. Young screenwriters should take note: write against type and delve into the real human experience, the one that everyone else tries to conveniently box away.

Why an 8, and not a 10? There were some choppy bits of editing. I would have liked to see even more growth and recognition in Maurice. Just a bit more from the writers would've brought it all the way home with the same aplomb given by O'Toole. But overall, a movie worth seeing, a performance worth rewarding. Bravo! Well done. Applause for Mr. O'Toole.

A feel good movie that still leaves you feeling like you need a shower. Some uncomfortable scenes and a few directorial flaws (a speedy montage during a trip to the shore is particularly out of place) don't detract from solid acting from the cast as a whole and a brilliant performance by Peter O'Toole in particular. This strange take on the Pygmalion story is well supported by Jodie Wittaker as the title character and Leslie Phillips as the friend that everyone needs to either accompany you or drive you to the grave. But it is O'Toole's performance that makes this movie worth the price of a ticket. If he doesn't finally win an Oscar for this I might have to start fund-raising to buy him one.