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Venus Our rating: Your rating: 1 2 3 4 Your Comments: see all MPAA rating: R (for language, some sexual content, and brief nudity) Genre: Comedy, Drama Theater release: January 05, 2007 by Miramax Directed by: Roger Michell Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes Cast: Peter O'Toole (Maurice), Jodie Whittaker (Jessie), Leslie Phillips (Ian), Vanessa Redgrave (Valerie), Richard Griffiths (Donald) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

For his latest film role, in a strange, darkly comedic British film called Venus, screen legend Peter O'Toole might just win that final, dubious honor that has eluded him for his entire four-decade career—an Academy Award. To say that the former Lawrence of Arabia turns in a tantalizing performance, though, is to state the obvious and to sell the man a bit short. It isn't merely a great performance—it's a performance that literally no one else could have given. The thought of someone else filling his shoes here is just as impossible to fathom as the thought of someone else crossing the desert with Omar Sherif all those years ago.

O'Toole's Maurice is an aged actor—a bit frail, but still employable—who has attained some degree of celebrity in his native Britain, thanks to a career of memorable performances on stage and screen. It might sound suspiciously like typecasting, and indeed, it appeals to O'Toole's natural charisma and grace, his mischievous sense of humor and his bona fide movie star glamour. But he's not just playing himself here—the particular brand of mischief that Maurice gets himself into makes this one of the boldest roles O'Toole's ever taken on.

Peter O'Toole as Maurice

It all starts when Maurice, paying a visit to his old acting buddy Ian (Leslie Phillips, hilariously gruff and cantankerous), discovers that his rickety friend is expecting a long-term houseguest—his niece's daughter, Jessie (Jodie Whittaker, a compelling newcomer). Ian seems to think Jessie is coming to serve as his nurse, and he relishes the prospect of reading Shakespeare with her and enjoying the delicious halibut dinners she is sure to fix him. He even buys a little bell, so as to summon her whenever he's in need.

When Maurice returns a few days later, however, he finds his old friend in a state of panic. His plans for Jessie haven't quite come to fruition, it would seem—not only is she unable to cook a piece of fish, but her chief concerns seem to be watching TV and drinking all of her Uncle Ian's fine Scotch. She is curt and unmannerly, and barely acknowledges Ian and Maurice at all.

Maurice and his friend Ian (Leslie Phillips) raise a glass

Ian is clearly distraught, and so Maurice— renowned for his way with the ladies—offers to take the vulgar girl off his hands. He takes her shopping, buys her jewelry, invites her to dine with him, lets her tag along as he goes to the set of a TV show he's doing, and even gets her a job as an art model. What begins as a friendly, flirtatious relationship, however, slowly blossoms into something with a bit more of an ewwwwww factor—while it's hardly a full-fledged romance, seventy-something Maurice clearly becomes a bit enamored with twenty-something Jessie, and she in turn begins to fancy him.

Many moviegoers will doubtless lose any interest in the film right here—a romance with such an extreme age difference is one thing that many audiences simply can't stomach. This isn't a squeamish, May-December romance story, however—not unlike the central relationship in Lost in Translation, there's some degree of ambiguity here. It's difficult to tell exactly what the nature of this relationship is, and, as the film continually meditates on the nature of age and beauty, it at times seems as though the bond between the two has more to do with aesthetics than actual romance. And indeed, the wisdom that Maurice imparts to his young friend—and the youthfulness that she brings to his life—is nothing if not noble.

Jessie (Jodie Whittaker) brings some zest into Maurice's life

Still, Jessie is a flirt and Maurice a womanizer, and there's no denying that their relationship is somewhat suggestive. Though Maurice's health—prostate problems have rendered him impotent—means there's no way the two can sleep together, Jessie teases him shamelessly, allowing him to kiss her shoulder (and stipulating that he's not allowed to slobber). Then things become even more complicated (and creepy) when Maurice catches Jessie and her more age-appropriate suitor sleeping together in his bed.

It's at once compelling and frustrating to watch the two characters advance in their obvious care for one another; it makes for a frequently spellbinding film, but also a somewhat obtuse one. There are a number of directions in which filmmaker Roger Michell (Notting Hill) could have taken the story, and he seems to have settled on all of them. There are scattered moments of insight into aging, the nature of art and beauty, the importance of selflessness in a relationship, trust, and the meaning of life, but it never quite adds up to anything truly inspiring or challenging; at the end of the film, it's difficult to say what exactly it all means.

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