The story, subject matter and broad structure were admirable, but I felt strongly that the script could have used another revision or too... plus perhaps some guidance in a few spots.
The Shakespearean quotes were pretty cheesy - I mean "To be or not to be" and "Is this a dagger I see before me..." Please. "Can I compare thee to a summers day...." Okay that was well delivered, and not too bad. But otherwise it had a bit of a high-school writer feel with the other bits. Either an unsophisticated perspective on the part of the writer, or trying to pander to a viewer who wouldn't be part of the demographic for this story.
Other elements that were weak are the two scenes I expected from the first 30 seconds of getting the plot direction: the brash young punk in the old guy's apartment, and the death scene. I thought from the start - oh, please don't do those two, so predictable. A minor quibble with O'tooles apartment up against the subway track. That seemed so implausible as well, for the successful, life-long actor in his twilight years, living up a few flights of stairs against the train tracks. Right.
Finally the slapstick fall down, stumble into the art studio bit was a sad TV "Three's Company" bit.
Given the ham-fisted writing, and several spots where the writing didn't seem in character for our young Venus, there were other elements that worked well. The actors were first rate, and held together an otherwise weak script. Redgrave and O'Toole were strong, as was Venus (Whittaker). The latter was well cast, as were the aging stars.
I thought the symbolism of the scenery was strong - we see the workings of the city: trains, infrastructure, wires, roads in parallel to the workings of an aging body. In the apartments, we see clutter, cramped awkward spaces. Again, the baggage of many years, and the discomfort of aging bodies.
It was good to see a handling of the subject matter. People age on the outside much faster than they age on the inside. A woman is the most beautiful thing a man will ever see, says Maurice. "For a woman?" asks Jessie - "A baby," he says.
The Shakespearean quotes were pretty cheesy - I mean "To be or not to be" and "Is this a dagger I see before me..." Please. "Can I compare thee to a summers day...." Okay that was well delivered, and not too bad. But otherwise it had a bit of a high-school writer feel with the other bits. Either an unsophisticated perspective on the part of the writer, or trying to pander to a viewer who wouldn't be part of the demographic for this story.
Other elements that were weak are the two scenes I expected from the first 30 seconds of getting the plot direction: the brash young punk in the old guy's apartment, and the death scene. I thought from the start - oh, please don't do those two, so predictable. A minor quibble with O'tooles apartment up against the subway track. That seemed so implausible as well, for the successful, life-long actor in his twilight years, living up a few flights of stairs against the train tracks. Right.
Finally the slapstick fall down, stumble into the art studio bit was a sad TV "Three's Company" bit.
Given the ham-fisted writing, and several spots where the writing didn't seem in character for our young Venus, there were other elements that worked well. The actors were first rate, and held together an otherwise weak script. Redgrave and O'Toole were strong, as was Venus (Whittaker). The latter was well cast, as were the aging stars.
I thought the symbolism of the scenery was strong - we see the workings of the city: trains, infrastructure, wires, roads in parallel to the workings of an aging body. In the apartments, we see clutter, cramped awkward spaces. Again, the baggage of many years, and the discomfort of aging bodies.
It was good to see a handling of the subject matter. People age on the outside much faster than they age on the inside. A woman is the most beautiful thing a man will ever see, says Maurice. "For a woman?" asks Jessie - "A baby," he says.