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John Malkovich takes on the title role in Klimt, a surreal drama reflecting on the famous painter's sexual and artistic exploits. It's 1918, and Austrian Gustav Klimt is dying in hospital. Flashbacks show him encountering a series of mysterious characters from the year 1900 onwards. Saffron Burrows is a stand-out as a provocative actress (and very possibly her mischievous lookalike), but it's not enough to make the muddled plot engaging, or fit for comparison with Klimt's stunning work.
"I expect to hear criticisms of this script akin to those levelled at Klimt's art," declared writer/director Raul Ruiz before the film's release. Nice spin, but unless anyone's ever called 'The Kiss' maddening and pompous, it's a vain hope. Ruiz tries to apply the principles of visual art to cinema, but he's failed to take the differences of the media into account. Surreal sequences feel purposeless within a rambling plot, and the camerawork is often mannered. Rapid changes in tone feel like a pretentious attempt at abstraction.
"PATIENT FANS MAY FIND THIS WORTH MINING"
This has one element in common with Klimt's work: nudity. Seems the man can barely go two paces without bumping into a host of naked lovelies, whether they're swinging from the ceilings or lying on a bed waiting to be ravished. There's little eroticism, however, and the usually expressive Malkovich spends most of the film looking slightly glum. There are philosophical nuggets here and there, so patient fans may find this worth mining. But unlike a Klimt painting, it only offers a few slivers of gold.
Klimt is released in UK cinemas on Friday 1st June 2007.
