'Nightmares...can't be as horrific as real life.'
Added 5/27/2009
Returning to films remembered from the past is a fortunate aspect of owning DVDs. LOVE IS THE DEVIL: STUDY FOR A PORTRAIT OF FRANCIS BACON is an art film that belongs in the collection of all those who admire the great British artist. One of the aspects of this film that makes it so powerful is revealed in the latter part of the title: many of Bacon's paintings were names 'Studies for...' and what writer/director John Maybury has created here are the impulses or stimuli that probably are close to the visual and visceral seeds resulting in the canvases of Bacon.
Rather than a biography of Bacon, LOVE IS THE DEVIL is episodic, attempting to recreate some of the situations that focused the mind of the man who created such grossly distorted creatures that ranged from the Pope to athletes, to portraits of his friends, to highly charged images of his long term physical ally, George Dyer. The camera pulls in and out of focus just the way Bacon's paintings do and instead of replicating Bacon's actual works, the film merely suggests the nidus that began the ideas: there are extended periods of Bacon, all dressed up for his smarmy nights on the dark side of town, turning from side to side, in and out of focus, not unlike his triptychs of Self Portraits.
Fully in charge of this 'study' of the genius is Derek Jacobi in a brilliant portrayal of the strange man who would become England's most honored painter. He has managed to discover myriad gestures and rituals like Bacon and whether he is in his infamous filthy studio or at The Colony bar he simply IS Francis Bacon. Balancing the needs and fragility of Bacon's psyche is a stunning portrait of the lost and tortured George Dyer by Daniel Craig. The interaction between these two actors is magical. And discovering the friends of Bacon who so often became models becomes a game of recollection as we are introduced to Muriel Belcher (Tilda Swinton), Henrietta Moraes (Anabel Brooks), Isabel Hawthorne (Anne Lambton), Daniel Farson (Adrian Scarborough) and John Deakin (Karl Johnson).
Many viewers would find this film difficult viewing as the life and style of the painter are less than immaculate. But for those who love expressionistic figurative art and the joy of creative film making, this is a very fine work to add to the library. Grady Harp, May 09
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Love is the Devil
Added 12/17/2008
I was very satisfied with this movie. The discription was accurate and the transaction was pleasant. All in all, a very good experience.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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I Almost Missed This Gem!
Added 10/21/2008
Last week I was going through my very old copies of Tatler, Harper's & Queen, and Vogue magazines (British issues) and found one with a review of this film. My old issues go back 15 years some of them. I read the review and saw the list of the actors names and said, "I've got to get this." After looking at it today, I am so glad I came across the review, because I would never have seen it otherwise.
I am not a Francis Bacon fan. His work, like Freud, leaves me uninspired. Jean Michel Basquiat, on the other hand, fires me up emotionally. After seeing the film I do want to see his retrospective next summer here in NYC at The Met. Perhaps then I WILL be inspired.
The film is just incredible. The writing, the photography, the editing, the music, the acting, absolutely wonderful. Faces who are now familiar to me would not have been when this film was made in the 90s. Craig, Swinton. Of course I knew and adored Derek Jacobi. He WAS Bacon. His looks, mannerisms, everything. The 'sex' scenes are tastefully done if that is the right word, and a lot is left to your imagination. The British really are the best actors and actresses in the world. There is no denying that.
The story is sad, disturbing and true. Like PRICK UP YOUR EARS, we get a fly-on-the-wall view of a forbidden London in the 60s. The gay scene that we would not have stumbled across had we not known the bars and clubs were there. The actors, all of them, were really excellent. I am just so glad I happened upon the review and was smart enough to get this film. It is money well spent. Now I must read more about Mr. Bacon.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A Strange Love Affair
Added 10/8/2008
"Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon"
A Strange Love Affair
Amos Lassen
When Daniel Craig was cast as the new James Bond there was a lot of interest in the 1998 film, "Love is the Devil" (Strand Releasing) because of his frontal nude scene in the film. The film, itself, is a somewhat short look at the very strange love affair between Francis Bacon (Derek Jacobi), an artist and his model/lover George Dyer (Daniel Craig). Dyer was the model for some of Bacon's most famous works and the film gives us an impressionist look at the relationship between the two men. Jacobi gives quite the performance embodying some of the artists real quirks including interaction with some very strange friends, brushing his teeth with ammonia, his masochistic bend and his sheer audacity. Visually and through characterization the movie is quite brilliant in its abstractions, darkness and cruelty.
Bacon is presented to us as a man who is disturbed and uncaring but he is also a genius who is not completely in control of himself. He used people, including Dyer, in order to succeed in the art world. However, his life plays second fiddle to the art scene at the time.
Craig as Dyer is also excellent and he falls victim to Bacon's strange ways as he becomes the artist's muse. As Dyer falls into alcohol and drugs as well as an abusive relationship, we become aware that he is heading toward the final fall--suicide.
Aside from the stars and the appearance of Jarman's muse Tilda Swinton, it is the photography of the film that is outstanding even though the film does appear pretentious at times. Obviously, this film was made for a more intellectual group than the man on the street but all in all, I found it completely interesting.
As for Craig's nude scene, let me just say that he measures up.
3 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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GRITTY, SAD BUT THE BEST.
Added 6/19/2008
I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT FRANCIS BACON. SO THE MOVIE WAS EDUCATIONAL. SOMETIMES MORE THAN I REALLY WANTED. D. CRAIG WAS MAGNIFICENT. A MUST FOR ALL THOSE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ART AND ARTIST'S HISTORY AND A DICKENISH ENGLAND.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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'Nightmares...can't be as horrific as real life.'
Added 5/27/2009
Returning to films remembered from the past is a fortunate aspect of owning DVDs. LOVE IS THE DEVIL: STUDY FOR A PORTRAIT OF FRANCIS BACON is an art film that belongs in the collection of all those who admire the great British artist. One of the aspects of this film that makes it so powerful is revealed in the latter part of the title: many of Bacon's paintings were names 'Studies for...' and what writer/director John Maybury has created here are the impulses or stimuli that probably are close to the visual and visceral seeds resulting in the canvases of Bacon.
Rather than a biography of Bacon, LOVE IS THE DEVIL is episodic, attempting to recreate some of the situations that focused the mind of the man who created such grossly distorted creatures that ranged from the Pope to athletes, to portraits of his friends, to highly charged images of his long term physical ally, George Dyer. The camera pulls in and out of focus just the way Bacon's paintings do and instead of replicating Bacon's actual works, the film merely suggests the nidus that began the ideas: there are extended periods of Bacon, all dressed up for his smarmy nights on the dark side of town, turning from side to side, in and out of focus, not unlike his triptychs of Self Portraits.
Fully in charge of this 'study' of the genius is Derek Jacobi in a brilliant portrayal of the strange man who would become England's most honored painter. He has managed to discover myriad gestures and rituals like Bacon and whether he is in his infamous filthy studio or at The Colony bar he simply IS Francis Bacon. Balancing the needs and fragility of Bacon's psyche is a stunning portrait of the lost and tortured George Dyer by Daniel Craig. The interaction between these two actors is magical. And discovering the friends of Bacon who so often became models becomes a game of recollection as we are introduced to Muriel Belcher (Tilda Swinton), Henrietta Moraes (Anabel Brooks), Isabel Hawthorne (Anne Lambton), Daniel Farson (Adrian Scarborough) and John Deakin (Karl Johnson).
Many viewers would find this film difficult viewing as the life and style of the painter are less than immaculate. But for those who love expressionistic figurative art and the joy of creative film making, this is a very fine work to add to the library. Grady Harp, May 09
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Love is the Devil
Added 12/17/2008
I was very satisfied with this movie. The discription was accurate and the transaction was pleasant. All in all, a very good experience.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
I Almost Missed This Gem!
Added 10/21/2008
Last week I was going through my very old copies of Tatler, Harper's & Queen, and Vogue magazines (British issues) and found one with a review of this film. My old issues go back 15 years some of them. I read the review and saw the list of the actors names and said, "I've got to get this." After looking at it today, I am so glad I came across the review, because I would never have seen it otherwise.
I am not a Francis Bacon fan. His work, like Freud, leaves me uninspired. Jean Michel Basquiat, on the other hand, fires me up emotionally. After seeing the film I do want to see his retrospective next summer here in NYC at The Met. Perhaps then I WILL be inspired.
The film is just incredible. The writing, the photography, the editing, the music, the acting, absolutely wonderful. Faces who are now familiar to me would not have been when this film was made in the 90s. Craig, Swinton. Of course I knew and adored Derek Jacobi. He WAS Bacon. His looks, mannerisms, everything. The 'sex' scenes are tastefully done if that is the right word, and a lot is left to your imagination. The British really are the best actors and actresses in the world. There is no denying that.
The story is sad, disturbing and true. Like PRICK UP YOUR EARS, we get a fly-on-the-wall view of a forbidden London in the 60s. The gay scene that we would not have stumbled across had we not known the bars and clubs were there. The actors, all of them, were really excellent. I am just so glad I happened upon the review and was smart enough to get this film. It is money well spent. Now I must read more about Mr. Bacon.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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