A few years back, Peter O'Toole initially balked at accepting an honorary Academy Award for career achievement
December 20, 2006 (Press Release) --
At the time, it seemed wishful thinking by an actor unlikely, in his 70s, to land the sort of role that could finally earn him that little golden trophy.
Yet O'Toole may have been right. In "Venus," he's back in all his rascally, randy, reprobate glory, with a role so charming, funny and melancholy it's hard to imagine he won't pick up another best-actor nomination.
And O'Toole does it playing someone not unlike who he really is, an aging actor who gets a late taste of the glory days of his youth.
It's not professional glory O'Toole's character, Maurice, craves in "Venus." Rather, he wistfully wants a reminder of past romantic and sexual adventures, his rusty libido aroused when a coarse but comely young woman enters his life.
Maurice and a fellow acting pal, Ian (Leslie Phillips), exist like an old, cozy married couple, scrambling for whatever film or TV work might be left to a couple of geezers, reading old friends' obituaries and wondering how many lines and columns they'll get when they expire.
Ian's niece packs her daughter off to stay with the old man awhile. Imagining a sweet, innocent country girl who will cook fish for him, Ian instead discovers his niece wanted to dump her wild child Jessie (Jodie Whittaker) off on him.
Petulant, sneering, disrespectful and slightly trashy, Jessie nevertheless begins to bond with her great-uncle's buddy Maurice, whose worldliness, moderate acting celebrity and trace remains of his dashing good looks leave the girl a bit starry-eyed.
To an extent, "Venus" plays out like a geriatric twist on "Pygmalion," only rather than Henry Higgins transforming the lowly Eliza Doolittle, here it's as much about the street urchin who affects the seeming mentor.
Source: http://www.msn.com
Yet O'Toole may have been right. In "Venus," he's back in all his rascally, randy, reprobate glory, with a role so charming, funny and melancholy it's hard to imagine he won't pick up another best-actor nomination.
And O'Toole does it playing someone not unlike who he really is, an aging actor who gets a late taste of the glory days of his youth.
It's not professional glory O'Toole's character, Maurice, craves in "Venus." Rather, he wistfully wants a reminder of past romantic and sexual adventures, his rusty libido aroused when a coarse but comely young woman enters his life.
Maurice and a fellow acting pal, Ian (Leslie Phillips), exist like an old, cozy married couple, scrambling for whatever film or TV work might be left to a couple of geezers, reading old friends' obituaries and wondering how many lines and columns they'll get when they expire.
Ian's niece packs her daughter off to stay with the old man awhile. Imagining a sweet, innocent country girl who will cook fish for him, Ian instead discovers his niece wanted to dump her wild child Jessie (Jodie Whittaker) off on him.
Petulant, sneering, disrespectful and slightly trashy, Jessie nevertheless begins to bond with her great-uncle's buddy Maurice, whose worldliness, moderate acting celebrity and trace remains of his dashing good looks leave the girl a bit starry-eyed.
To an extent, "Venus" plays out like a geriatric twist on "Pygmalion," only rather than Henry Higgins transforming the lowly Eliza Doolittle, here it's as much about the street urchin who affects the seeming mentor.
Source: http://www.msn.com
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