Movie Minx

Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce
Directed by: Milos Forman (One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Man on the Moon)

Plot: Antonio Salieri, now confined to an asylum, tells the incredible story of the rise of wunderkind Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna.

But is it any good?

All I really knew about this film was that awful Falco single that was released at about the same time and stuck in the charts like a limpet for months. It went: “Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, rock me Amadeus”. Hardly genius.

Luckily that song makes no appearance in Amadeus - only the haunting music of the man himself, which will win you over if it hasn’t already.

I’m no Mozart expert and I’ve read the film is not the most accurate portrayal of his life - which biopic ever is? - but it certainly makes for compelling viewing. Actually the perspective is not Mozart’s at all, but the man who obsesses about him and admires him and loathes him all at once. Agony indeed.

It’s easy to summarise the highs and lows of the movie. Firstly, it’s brilliantly acted by two unknowns. Salieri’s tearing envy is almost tangible, and Mozart’s naive and often cheeky manner (that high-pitched giggle!) is both entrancing and irritating. He grabs the spotlight with both hands, his musical talent effortless and measureless in the face of Salieri’s who sees his dreams of being Vienna’s best composer shattered by the arrival of this precocious young upstart. Slowly, like the tragic figure he is, he begins to unwind. And Mozart also begins to fray and crumble under all the greed, deceit and pressure in Vienna.

The sets and costumes are quite stunning and involving in themselves (why did they wear such silly grey wigs though?). The rich, lush and ornate concert halls and palaces of the 18th century are larger than life and form the perfect backdrop for the intense tragedy slowly unwinding before us.

But it’s not a perfect movie. For one thing, it’s just too long - approaching three hours - and I must admit to a little nap 3/4 through as the film dragged. Still, it redeemed itself at the end and you’ll find yourself staring open-mouthed at Salieri’s fixed grin as he is wheeled past the grimy and writhing lunatics, and struck immobile by the haunting final strains of Mozart’s music. Or maybe you won’t, I’m just assuming.

Ultimately the film works very well as a powerful portrait of genius, envy and madness - essential ingredients in the life of one of the world’s finest talents. It just wasn’t one of the best films I’ve ever seen - sorry Amadeus enthusiasts.

IMDb’s rating: 8.3/10
My rating: 7.5/10

Next movie to be reviewed: Kil Bill vol. 1

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