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Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
Another look at a Hollywood star at the end of her career is provided in 2017's Film Stars Don't Die in London,a somber and sentimental look at the final two years in the life of legendary actress Gloria Grahame that is worth watching because of a dazzling, Oscar-worthy performance by Annette Bening in the title role that anchors this film and makes it seem a lot better than it is.
This film is based on a book written on the leading male character here, a Peter Turner, a struggling actor living in Liverpool who meets the actress when she moves into a local boarding house. It is not long before Peter begins an affair with the actress, long before he actually learns who she is. Needless to say, learning about Grahame only fuels his interest in the actress, but the fact that Peter is decades younger than Grahame and the fact that Grahame is silently suffering from breast cancer spell eventual doom for this May/December romance.
Since the character of Peter is a real person, it's pretty hard to dispute the facts presented here, otherwise the film never would have been made, but credit must be given to screenwriter Matt Greehalgh and director Paul McGuigan for their imaginative mounting of what is essentially, kind of an ordinary story, given more credibility that it deserves because the central characters are real people and one of them is a movie star. As has been the trend with a lot of recent films, the story is told out of sequence and attention is required so that the viewer stays abreast of where we are in the story and that's where McGuigan's imagination kicks in...sometime the moves from present to past aren't realistic, but they are extremely effective. There's one terrific cinematic move where we are in the present where Peter leaves the present by opening a door and we're in the past at the beginning of his relationship with Grahame.
But what really makes this film worth investing in is the post graduate acting course offered by Annette Bening in bringing the tragic Grahame to the screen. A look at this legendary star was long overdue and, of course, I would have liked to seen a little more about the height of her career, but because this is Peter's story and not Grahame's, that wasn't possible but I'll take what I can get. Bening pulls out all the acting stops here, presenting a Gloria Grahame who might have had more going on than breast cancer. Her jarring switches in behavior suggest bipolar disorder but that is only what this reviewer's eyes saw because if there were mental health issues with the actress, they are not addressed here. Bening is extraordinary here...I love the scene near the end where Peter takes her to an empty theater and they sit in folding chairs onstage and read the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet...Peter is reading the lines but, of course, Gloria has the scene memorized. I also loved that Gloria's final departure from England was juxtaposed with footage of her winning the 1952 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Bad and the Beautiful
Jamie Bell proves to be an actor of substance, holding his own against an acting powerhouse like Bening with his sweet and sincere Peter. Bell is also reunited with his Billy Elliott co-star, Julie Walters, who is terrific as Peter's mother. There's also a classy cameo by Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave as Gloria's mom. The film features handsome production values, but this is Bening's show and she owns this movie, almost making the viewer forget that anything is wrong.
Another look at a Hollywood star at the end of her career is provided in 2017's Film Stars Don't Die in London,a somber and sentimental look at the final two years in the life of legendary actress Gloria Grahame that is worth watching because of a dazzling, Oscar-worthy performance by Annette Bening in the title role that anchors this film and makes it seem a lot better than it is.
This film is based on a book written on the leading male character here, a Peter Turner, a struggling actor living in Liverpool who meets the actress when she moves into a local boarding house. It is not long before Peter begins an affair with the actress, long before he actually learns who she is. Needless to say, learning about Grahame only fuels his interest in the actress, but the fact that Peter is decades younger than Grahame and the fact that Grahame is silently suffering from breast cancer spell eventual doom for this May/December romance.
Since the character of Peter is a real person, it's pretty hard to dispute the facts presented here, otherwise the film never would have been made, but credit must be given to screenwriter Matt Greehalgh and director Paul McGuigan for their imaginative mounting of what is essentially, kind of an ordinary story, given more credibility that it deserves because the central characters are real people and one of them is a movie star. As has been the trend with a lot of recent films, the story is told out of sequence and attention is required so that the viewer stays abreast of where we are in the story and that's where McGuigan's imagination kicks in...sometime the moves from present to past aren't realistic, but they are extremely effective. There's one terrific cinematic move where we are in the present where Peter leaves the present by opening a door and we're in the past at the beginning of his relationship with Grahame.
But what really makes this film worth investing in is the post graduate acting course offered by Annette Bening in bringing the tragic Grahame to the screen. A look at this legendary star was long overdue and, of course, I would have liked to seen a little more about the height of her career, but because this is Peter's story and not Grahame's, that wasn't possible but I'll take what I can get. Bening pulls out all the acting stops here, presenting a Gloria Grahame who might have had more going on than breast cancer. Her jarring switches in behavior suggest bipolar disorder but that is only what this reviewer's eyes saw because if there were mental health issues with the actress, they are not addressed here. Bening is extraordinary here...I love the scene near the end where Peter takes her to an empty theater and they sit in folding chairs onstage and read the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet...Peter is reading the lines but, of course, Gloria has the scene memorized. I also loved that Gloria's final departure from England was juxtaposed with footage of her winning the 1952 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Bad and the Beautiful
Jamie Bell proves to be an actor of substance, holding his own against an acting powerhouse like Bening with his sweet and sincere Peter. Bell is also reunited with his Billy Elliott co-star, Julie Walters, who is terrific as Peter's mother. There's also a classy cameo by Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave as Gloria's mom. The film features handsome production values, but this is Bening's show and she owns this movie, almost making the viewer forget that anything is wrong.