Amadeus

Since I already got the meme review out of the way: TOUCHED BY GOD There’s nothing I can say about this film that hasn’t already been said. It is perfect. I simply can’t find a fault no matter how hard I look. The performances. Wow. Abraham as Salieri is a joy to watch. I love watching his eccentricities like his sweet tooth and seeing his underlying darkness continue to grow over the course of the film. His despair in the sight of his ineptitude and torturous internal struggle are displayed beautifully through a very nuanced and subtle performance while the crazed monologues of his elder self break open his insides and reveal his true insanity. Matching Abraham, Hulce is absolutely stellar as the titular Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Playing such an immature and goofy character in a relatively serious drama is an incredible challenge but he pulled it off spectacularly. The laugh contrasted with the dark depression and drunkenness is a shocking and horrifying picture of a man who never lived his own life. He can be crass and childish, profound and enchanting, or dark and saddening. I also have to shout out Berridge as Stanzi. Her portrayal as a wife in distress was simple yet effective. She showed  her pain and joy so effortlessly and effectively. Incredible work by her. In terms of the music, there’s nothing to be said. Mozart is one of the greatest musicians of all time. His music in combination with others throughout the film immersed me more than almost any other film has. The direction was also superb and Miloš Forman went all out on this one. While the direction seems quite minimal for the most part, with shots just panning around 18th Century homes and apartments as well as the alleys of Vienna, the opera exploded. The scenes of Salieri and Mozart conducting, camera up close and intimate, are some of the most intense of any film I have ever watched and will always remain in my memory, especially Mozart’s opera following the death of his father. It was horrifying. The ending scene also. An absolute masterpiece. The plot is simple enough. It follows the success and failure of Mozart through a fictional rivalry between himself and Salieri. The movie sounds like it would be a snore fest but it is quite the opposite. The plot proposes Mozart as a sort of question: Why does God bless certain people with talent when it seems like they don’t deserve it? The question is one that Salieri struggles with over the course of the film, believing himself cursed to witness an immature child who speaks with the voice of God in his music, while being unable to be touched by God in the same sense. The themes of religion and talent strike a chord that is extremely personal while the movie also serves as an intense character study of a man torn in two by his love for Mozart and hate of himself and God. A masterpiece. Truly one of the greatest movies yet written.