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Concerto for a conflicted genius
Thursday, November 29, 2018
"Amadeus" nailed the major maestro biopic subgenre back in 1984. Ten years later, a group of filmmakers would attempt the same feat with "Immortal Beloved," spotlighting perhaps the greatest musical genius in classical music history, Ludwig Van Beethoven. The critical reception was spotty, and box-office receipts weren't stellar. But this picture has a lot going for it, foremost because the soundtrack (solely consisting of Beethoven's own music) is masterful, the casting of Gary Oldman in the lead role is spot-on, and the cinematography is sumptuous and robust. CineVerse analyzed this movie last night and came away with these conclusions:
MOVIES SIMILAR TO IMMORTAL BELOVED
- Amadeus
- Citizen Kane (with its flashback framing and investigative catalyst character)
- Mahler and Lisztomania by Ken Russell
- The Devil’s Violinist
- Copying Beethoven
- Chopin: Desire for Love
- The Phantom of the Opera (the unmasking scene)
- It’s not meant to be historically accurate; the movie was criticized at the time of its release for being liberal with the known facts of Beethoven’s life. But instead of aiming for historical precision, the filmmakers try to make a more entertaining, even impressionistic, biopic that arguably lets the music take center stage and the true life events fall into the middle ground and background.
- It’s structured almost as a mystery whodunit. And it uses an investigator type character as its audience surrogate, who attempts to learn the identity of the titular personality. In this way, the filmmakers hoped to build intrigue and keep the viewer more engaged.
- Interestingly, the three women who are all “immortal beloved” candidates/suspects are entrusted to narrate this story. Instead of letting the tale unfold organically, we have three assigned storytellers.
- It tells its tale in flashback instead of as a linear narrative. Unlike “Amadeus,” it doesn’t delve much into Beethoven’s early years as a child prodigy or his rise to renown playing for royalty. This story is primarily focused on his middle to later years, when his deafness became increasingly problematic.
- The movie also veers into fantastical, cerebral, stream-of-consciousness territory.
- Roger Ebert wrote that this is a “film that imagines the mental state of Beethoven with a series of images as vivid and convincing as a dream…(Bernard Rose) has created a fantasy about Beethoven that evokes the same disturbing, ecstatic passion we hear in his music.”
- Janet Maslin of the New York Times wrote: “Think of this as an extremely ambitious classical music video, with visual ideas that merely echo the moods of the music. The music tells its own story, and the music is glorious.”
- Some have criticized Gary Oldman of being a scenery chewer, an overacting thespian at times. But here, many critics have lauded his performance as being both “powerful and restrained,” nuanced and sensitive as well as turbulent and revealing.
- Frustration and cosmic irony—Beethoven loses a priceless gift central to his art, his hearing; he also encounters challenges in the form of his sister-in-law, who thwarts his efforts at custody of Beethoven’s nephew.
- Passion—for art, music, love
- The power of music to evoke memories, fantasies, and passionate emotions
- Mystery: the central yarn here is trying to uncover who the composer’s “immortal beloved” is
- Unpredictability—the man himself was known as volatile, brooding, and capable of wild mood swings.
- Paperhouse
- Chicago Joe and the Showgirl
- Candyman
- Ivans Xtc
