Venus

Premiere magazine ran a list of the Top 100 movie performances of all time, and Peter O’Toole as T.E. Lawrence came in #1. I can think of a few other contenders, but I wouldn’t argue very hard against him. And it was his very first role! We had just seen him in Lawrence of Arabia, and I looked into him a bit and found he held the all-time record for Oscar nominations without a win. He was an eight-time loser. I had seen all his nominated performances except this one, his last. He was an old man now, of course. In Lawrence of Arabia he was thirty. In most of his other great films he was known for his manic energy. How would he do in this one, which was bound to be more subdued?

To no one’s surprise, he did very well. (I have to say I was really, really grateful to see a film about an old man who was not dying of cancer or debilitated by Alzheimer’s. I’m very tired of those.) In one of the DVD extras he described the story as “a dirty old man and a slutty young woman.” I think slutty is a little harsh, but she is no prize, at first. Naturally, she matures as she goes along. He is infatuated with her, falls in love, as he has done serially all his life. Vanessa Redgrave has a small part as his wife, from whom he has been separated for many years, and she points out that he has never been able to resist a pretty girl.

There is not really anything distasteful about his relationship with her. (She is played, very well, by Jodie Whittaker, who we have seen and enjoyed in Broadchurch.) He is up front about his desires, and never tries to force himself on her. It gradually becomes a friendship. It’s not a great movie, but it’s a good one.