Lust for Life

I caught Lust for Life on BBC-2 last Saturday after a friend alerted me to it. I'd somehow never managed to see it but had always kept at the back of my mind. Well, it was worth it - Kirk Douglas was quite remarkable. Firstly, his resemblance to the self-portraits of Van Gogh was extraordinary, considering KD is a Jewish Lithuanian and Vincent a redhaired Belgian. Then he demonstrated the physical energy one always imagined he must have had. The key to any successful historical recration is not that it's necessarily authentic, but that it should be convincing, and this certainly was. James Donald (one of my favourite British actors of the post-war period) played Theo (VVG's brother), showing the detached but loving compassion that is always present in his letters.
The look of the film was startling; nearly every frame recreated the look of an Impressionist or Post-Impressionist painting. I can't recall any film of the period (1956) possessing such a strong visual imperative - it brought to life nearly every one of VVG's painting and wove them seamlessly into the narrative.
I was delighted to see other favourites - Pamela Brown, one of that small company of magical post-war British actresses who suffered dreadfully from the drive to put the 1950s Rank Charm School look centre stage. With her marvellous eyes and wonderful voice she lit up any film in which she appeared.
Niall McGinnis, another favourite, also featured. It's no coincidence that both he and Brown featured in Michael Powell's 1940s films - Powell always had an eye for interesting and off-centre acting talent.
Yes, it was essentially a Hollywood biopic and only covers the main bullet points of VVG's life, but it bears little resemblance to most examples of the genre. It's a lovely film and KD's performance lights up the screen. I saw an interview with him last week (he's (91) in which he talked about his childhood. He remembered being out on the streets of New York, aged about 6 and finding a potato in the street. He picked it up and instead of taking it home to his family he lit a fire and cooked it in the gutter, he was so hungry. Our actors today don't have that kind of life experience and, although I wouldn't wish being starving on anyone, actors with that kind of background of poverty bring something special to the screen.