Sunday, March 18, 2007

At the Movies: Venus, The Last King of Scotland

Movies get to Madison late. We finally saw Venus and, at long last, The Last King of Scotland, back to back. Thank goodness the seats were comfortable recliners. Still, my aching back...

Forest Whitaker had to win the Oscar, in this or virtually any year. What an incredible performance! Did anyone catch his recurring guest role in The Shield last year? Or remember him in The Crying Game? Is there anyone among the male peers of his generation to compare in such roles?

(I was at law school in New Haven when Meryl Streep performed at the Yale Rep. She'll always be my sentimental favorite in anything she does. But that's old news.)

Particularly as I get older and feebler, I can appreciate the scene in Venus in which Peter O'Toole says a final goodbye to his ex-wife, played by Vanessa Redgrave. The emotions of the moment, and of their ups and downs together over the decades, flicker over the faces of these great old pros of the cinema. What a sublime moment.

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