Venus (2006)

Directed by: Roger Michell

Starring: Peter O'Toole

Venus is not much more than a performance piece, aka, a character piece for Peter O'Toole who plays Morris. Morris is dying of typical old man dying syndrome and as he's dying, we explore his relationships with his closest friends and that with a younger woman named Jessie.

Not much happens but Morris is such a real character that he in and of himself is a story. While its not the most compelling of stories, it is compelling enough to wonder where his relationships will end up and what will happen to him in the end. He develops in such a way that despite his sleaziness towards Jessie and the apparent lack of any real ambition, we ultimately side with him throughout the film.

Peter O'Toole is either so brilliant in this film or so old. In other words, the subtleties of his performance are so real, its hard to imagine its acting at all. Jason Robards performance in Magnolia comes readily to mind while watching O'Toole. He's not exciting, he's not dramatic, he's not all that comedic, but he is very, very real.

Whether or not Venus is entertaining is almost hard to say. Its not entertaining in the traditional sense, it lacks compelling drama, there are no overwhelming conflicts, just the ironic accusation here and there, but there are relationships and ones that simply exist. For that to be entertaining, they need to be real... and that they are.

**1/2