I didn’t like this as much as I hoped I would. It wasn’t that bad necessarily, but feels more like wasted potential. Craig and Jacobi are so unbelievably good in this that I wish the film itself was a little more put together. The camera tricks, distorted mirrors, and Jacob’s Ladder-esque visual effects were pretty cool until I realized that that was about all that this film was going to do to mimic the style of Bacon’s work. The underlying psychological darkness of Bacon’s paintings is not really present in the film, only the surface level effects which manipulate the camera and make for some very out of place dream sequences. It’s overkill, and, to me, makes a very real and very sad story feel cheaper.
Francis Bacon chewed George Dyer up and spit him out. This film is at its best when it’s just the two of them in Bacon’s beautifully realized studio. I’m still shocked by how good the two leads are, especially Craig. Basically this film has a lot of great qualities but restraint is not one of them. Bacon was not a subtle painter or lover, so it would seem, but he was still only a man— not a fucking mad scientist or maniac as he is often portrayed here.
This all sounds so negative but it’s not like the movie is terrible. I just wish this thing could be twice as long and twice as subtle. Maybe I should be thankful that there is any kind of film like this regarding Bacon. It’s a hellscape for biopics and I’m not expecting Raging fucking Bull, but this story is too sad, violent, and real to be left in this state.
I don’t know, feeling very mixed I guess. Also shoutout Ryuichi Sakamoto who again fails to miss even once.
I didn’t like this as much as I hoped I would. It wasn’t that bad necessarily, but feels more like wasted potential. Craig and Jacobi are so unbelievably good in this that I wish the film itself was a little more put together. The camera tricks, distorted mirrors, and Jacob’s Ladder-esque visual effects were pretty cool until I realized that that was about all that this film was going to do to mimic the style of Bacon’s work. The underlying psychological darkness of Bacon’s paintings is not really present in the film, only the surface level effects which manipulate the camera and make for some very out of place dream sequences. It’s overkill, and, to me, makes a very real and very sad story feel cheaper.
Francis Bacon chewed George Dyer up and spit him out. This film is at its best when it’s just the two of them in Bacon’s beautifully realized studio. I’m still shocked by how good the two leads are, especially Craig. Basically this film has a lot of great qualities but restraint is not one of them. Bacon was not a subtle painter or lover, so it would seem, but he was still only a man— not a fucking mad scientist or maniac as he is often portrayed here.
This all sounds so negative but it’s not like the movie is terrible. I just wish this thing could be twice as long and twice as subtle. Maybe I should be thankful that there is any kind of film like this regarding Bacon. It’s a hellscape for biopics and I’m not expecting Raging fucking Bull, but this story is too sad, violent, and real to be left in this state.
I don’t know, feeling very mixed I guess. Also shoutout Ryuichi Sakamoto who again fails to miss even once.
