AT ETERNITY’S GATE
Starry, starry plight…
The artist Julian Schnabel began his film career in 1996, with a biopic of fellow painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Now, more than two decades later, he returns to the art world for a portrait of Vincent van Gogh. The Dutch painter, famous for his sunflowers, expressive brushstrokes and ear removal, has not been short of directors (Robert Altman and Vincente Minnelli among them) willing to tackle his tortured existence, but Schnabel adds a layer of authenticity here.
With the Oscar-nominated Willem Dafoe in the lead role, Schnabel mounts a scrubbed-raw look at the painter’s final years, when he moves to Arles on the advice of his companion and fellow artist Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac) and begins to paint relentlessly. While he finds support, notably from his sympathetic art dealer and brother Theo (Rupert Friend), he faces mockery from the locals – not least in one shocking scene when a passing teacher and her pupils take umbrage at his work.
If Schnabel isn’t adding anything new to the story, his unsentimental approach feels fitting for the tragic outcome.
His trump card is a full-blooded Dafoe, who admirably conveys van Gogh’s struggles with his sanity, but the collaboration with DoP Benoît Delhomme is equally fruitful. This is not the shimmering countryside of recent animation Loving Vincent, but a rough-hewn and unforgiving landscape. Featuring notable cameos from Mads Mikkelsen and others, it leaves a distinct impression. James Mottram
THe VeRDIcT
Led by a typically robust Dafoe, Schnabel’s vivid artist portrait is rendered with dynamism.