Venus (2006)

I haven't been very good with my film watching of late but I did find time for Roger Michell's 'Venus', which revitalised the career of Peter O'Toole as a roguish aged actor, whilst simultaneously discovering Jodie Whittaker, who gives a fine performance of what is a fairly confusing character.

The basic story is that of two old actors, Maurice and Ian, who once had success but now struggle to find any parts beyond corpses. Ian optimistically agrees to accomodate his neice's daughter, Jessie, as a nurse, but is shocked to discover her lack of interest or sympathy. On the other hand, this intrigues Maurice, who enjoys the challenge of seducing a woman some sixty years younger than himself. Amazingly, Jessie reciprocates his interest, taking advantage of his desire for her own benefits whilst also sharing a unique friendship with him.

There are moments of brilliant comedy, particularly between O'Toole and Leslie Phillips as Maurice and Ian respectively, as they argue and complain about their old age, whilst tenderly caring for one another. Juxtaposed with this are the shocking scenes of lust and exploitation between Maurice and Jessie, culminating in physicality and overt sexual exposure. Whilst the scenes between the old friends are touching and emotionally powerful, the scenes with the younger girl are quite disturbing and confusing. We gradually learn why Jessie needs the attention of Maurice, and hence why she allows his perversions, but it's never really explained why she is so sympathetic towards him. The audience is able to feel sympathy for a man who is a shadow of what he formerly was, but Jessie does not see this side of him. Instead he presents himself as an amiable sexual predator, able to explicitly pronounce his intentions because he is so harmless as an old man. Jessie always seems to retain control and is never too uncomfortable, even reaching out to Maurice through her sexuality, but it's an uncomfortable relationship that seems to hold much more benfits for the male participant whilst simply exposing the female for scant reward.

The performances are all great (even if the dialogue is occasionally a little trite) including peripheral performances from Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Griffiths, but the film somehow undermines them with an inappropriate atmosphere. The soundtrack is completely unsuited, featuring pop songs from Corinne Bailey Rae which fail to provide a connection to either Maurice, Jessie or the narrative. The feature very uncomfortably, particularly over the final credits where it seems to suggest a completely different mood to the story we have just experienced. Elsewhere, the film supports the elderly status of its characters, rather than allowing them to appear as characters still with a youthful vitality at heart, despite their physical failings.

Sometimes the humour is too easy, simply placing copious swearwords in the mouths of the elderly. I didn't feel there was much respect in the film for either those older characters, or the females. Some of the dialogue suggests a gross misunderstanding or women: "A naked woman is the most beautiful thing a man will ever see." "What's the most beautiful thing a woman will ever see, do you know?" "Her first child." I'm sure there are many women who would protest against being defined either by their sexual physicality or potential as mothers - which is what the sexually permissive nurse, Jessie, is - but then this is a film written and directed and seen through the eyes of men.

It's a slippery slope to try and sympathetically portray the relationship between an old man and a young girl and it begins badly. Peter O'Toole can never seem less than perverted, especially when his success means he is more than an unfortunate pensioner making a fool of himself. Jessie's character is disinterested and uncultured; why would she be interested in going to the theatre and art galleries with Maurice? It's far more interesting when we begin to understand how she is exploiting him, along with Maurice's own realisation. But he can't resist her and there's always a sense that he is benefiting from her abuse, which borders on prostitution. I was generally left feeling a bit unsure of who we're supposed to feel sorry for, and a bit worried by the politics of the film.

I think, due to the brilliant performances and chemistry of the elderly friends, this could have been a film focusing exclusively on the difficulties of being old and no longer as powerful and dynamic as you once were. The dialogue is generally better in these scenes, which have a lively improvised feel to them, and they are more engaging for the audience. A film like that would still have an appeal to a wide audience, rather than the unnessecary discomfort of watching a teenager inserting her finger into her vagina before a man almost five times her age tries to suck it, but Roger Michell has preferred psychological confusion in his previous films, such as the poor 'Enduring Love' and the brilliant 'The Mother', also written by 'Venus' scribe, Hanif Kureishi. 'Venus' is worth seeing for the performances, but watch it with an open mind and you might be able to buy into its story.