In the 1960s, Julian Sklar (McKellen) was a fixture of the London art scene, but he now lives in cluttered, self-imposed seclusion – something of a forgotten man (he’d been reduced from an illustrious household name to a man who sells spiteful video messages on ‘OnlyFans’!). Meanwhile, Julian’s estranged children (concerned that their inheritance was being depleted by Julian’s extravagant tastes and lack of output over the decades) have discovered an unfinished series of portraits in their father’s attic from Julian’s most prolific and successful period – inspired by his relationship with a man he called Christopher. They would like Lori (Coel), an ‘art restorer’ and an old art school acquaintance, to restore the canvases… and by ‘restore’ they mean forge them. I think I’d better leave it at that (* no spoilers)…
In fact,
although the storyline had some merit, I thought the film’s main value related
to the excellence of the acting and the chemistry between them. McKellen was
predictably brilliant in a role that brought out the wealth of his acting
talents – self-obsession/self-pity, charm, acidly witty observations and casual
cruelty. I’d never previously come across Coel, but I thought she was perfect
in her calm, ‘art restorer’/potential faker role. All played out by the two of
them in a lovely, gentle, entertaining way.
The other
aspect of the film that I found absolutely enchanting was Julian’s chaotic
bohemian townhouse… someone must have really enjoyed themselves creating a film
set of such convincing (and fascinating) clutter!
All in all, a very entertaining, enjoyable and
rather lovely film.
PS: Perhaps my only gripe (and Moira
agreed with me) was to do with the clarity of the dialogue at times (a regular issue
with films for me these days)(American movies are the worse offenders!). I know
my hearing isn’t 100%, but there were times when I did yearn for
sub-titles (I know!).
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