Movie Log: Venus

The Wife and I saw Venus about a week ago now, and a bit of dialogue from it has already entered our personal language. (It's the bit about "chuffs and bumps," for those who've seen the film.)

Genre-wise, the movie is an odd romance, between sophisticated seventy-something Londoner Maurice (Peter O'Toole), a reasonably well-known actor, and the poorly-educated, thick-accented, nineteen-year-old Jessie (Jody Whittaker), the grand-niece of his best friend. (Jessie has just arrived in London after some troubles at home.) To be honest, the romance is mostly on Maurice's side; he's fascinated with Jessie as a pretty young thing and I got the feeling that he's "attempting to seduce" her simply because that's what he's been used to doing with girls like her for the past fifty-some years. On the other hand, she comes to at least somewhat enjoy it, and also is clearly using him (or her sexual power over him) to achieve her own ends.

I can't in honesty call this a romantic comedy, even though it does have some very funny and amusing moments. In the grand scheme of things, there are comedies and there are tragedies, and comedies end with a marriage. This is not a movie that could ever end with a marriage; it follows the iron law of movies in which an older person teacher a younger person about life...and if you don't know what that iron law is, you need to see a few more movies.

Jessie wants to be a model -- though she has no poise, a permanent sullen expression, eats constantly, and has that horrible, occasionally impenetrable, regional accent. Maurice gets her work as a life drawing model, but Jessie is appalled at getting nude. (This is where the chuffs and bumps come in.) Venus is dominated by O'Toole -- he was nominated for an Oscar for it, and with good reason -- but it's Jessie's story. It's that old cliche, a young person taught about life and love by a wise older person, but done with grace and spirit (and accurately foul mouths for sullen teenagers and ancient actors).

There's also some good comedy between Maurice and his best friend, Jessie's grand-uncle, Ian (Leslie Phillips). (Richard Griffiths also shows up in a few scenes as a third friend.)

All in all, it's not quite as generic and obvious as one might fear, but it does go pretty much where you'd expect it to. And, going into this movie, you have to be willing to accept a kind of romance between a man in his seventies and a women who isn't quite twenty. But, given that, it's full of fine performances and great lines, and is a movie well worth seeing.