Paul and I saw this together our first night at the 2006 Denver Film Festival, and had mixed feelings about it. The man who introduced the film said he thinks it's one to watch for an
Oscar nomination and possibly a Best Actor award for O'Toole. I'm not one to make
such predictions, but it was an amazing performance. O'Toole's own life is winding down in a way that made him perfectly suited for the character study of Maurice, an aging actor whose health is beginning to fade. O'Toole does much more than just look and act appropriately aging--he seems to know at his core what it means to look back on your life with fondness and regret and one last burst of hope.
Apart from O'Toole and other very solid performances (Venessa Redgrave and Leslie Philips), the film has some slightly annoying qualities, as well as some very redeeming ones. I'll start with the narrative elements you'll need to understand the annoying things about the film. The whole premise of the film rests on the infatuation developed by the character Maurice for a
very young working class girl named Jessie, a relative of his closest friend, Ian. He develops a relationship with Jessie (that is maybe 20 percent innocent and 80 percent highly questionable) that focuses on Maurice giving her a good dose of culture and class. In exchange, he wants to look at (and touch) youth. Can anyone say
My Fair Lady?
Pretty Woman? The thematic correlation is obvious, but it gets pushed over the edge by some scenes that involve buying Jessie some expensive earrings and taking her to the theatre and giving her a ride in a limo (yes, she stands up through the sunroof as they're driving through London).
But before you decide there's no way you'll see this movie, let me tell you what does work. Keep in mind that O'Toole works. There are some really funny and touching scenes between Maurice and his best friend, Ian. Their friendship is truly delightful. Plus, the use of light in the film is really beautiful. Look for the long, silent scenes where Maurice is sitting on the edge of his bed with the light coming in the window. And the film's treatment of larger issues and themes was very compelling to me. The film sets up several important contrasts: youth and aging; power and powerlessness; what we have and what we want; companionship/touch and isolation; privilege and poverty; pain and forgiveness. These are the contrasts of life, and they make the film worth seeing.