“Sorrow is greater than laughter,” says Vincent van Gogh, in a biopic that sums up why he’s never been called Mr Giggles. That said, euphoria’s on the menu. Van Gogh has the loveliest smile. He first unleashes it while eating soil.
Van Gogh is what you might call a method painter. He’s determined to experience things before he represents them, which makes Willem Dafoe, who takes a famously serious approach to acting, a perfect fit. The 63-year-old (rightly Oscar-nominated for his performance) pours himself into the part, which covers the last two years of the Dutch artist’s life in France. He is devastatingly tender whenever van Gogh’s brother, Theo (Rupert Friend), is around.
He’s equally convincing in splenetic mode. Dafoe always gives good rage, particularly where women are concerned. Here, a crucial encounter shows the artist intimidating a shepherdess (he says he wants to paint her, and almost clambers onto her when she fails to adopt the right pose). Dafoe, all gnarled cheeks and tightly clenched teeth, gets the lo-fi scariness just right.
Meanwhile, Oscar Isaac is nifty as the urbane Gauguin, hinting at the insecurity beneath the poise. When the pair paint the same woman, at the same time, the tension is incredible. Another plus is the lush cinematography. Air, zapped by sunshine, looks both extraterrestrial and delicious: imagine flying saucers in a sea of raspberry coulis.
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Less successful are attempts by director Julian Schnabel to convey van Gogh’s deteriorating mental health. The use of a half-blurry lens becomes aggravating. As for the idea that van Gogh didn’t actually commit suicide but was shot by accident, that’s old news.
And why do Van Gogh and Gauguin converse in English? The real van Gogh was fluent in four languages, including in French (even the letters he sent to Theo were in French). The shepherdess, too, looks awfully modern. Her shaggy hair-do, her cinched waist, her pout: she could be a model for H&M. These may sound like niggles but the jarring details add up.
At Eternity’s Gate is about a man who enjoys being engulfed by emotion. The movie that frames his rapture, though full of beautiful moments, is near wild heaven, but not near enough.
