MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“Loving Vincent”
(2017)
In one word: Amazing.
In three words: A must see.*
In far more words: …
***
As soon as the end credits began to roll for “Loving
Vincent”, I wanted to jump up and punch into this review that this is the
coolest film I have ever seen. Before, however, I could make it up the stairs
to my laptop, I had to take a breath to focus and realize that would be a far
too general term for cinema. Then, I thought perhaps the coolest-looking animated
film I have ever seen would be more appropriate, and if it’s not on top, it is
sure as Hell in the Top Three.
“Loving Vincent” is not only awe-inspiring in
presentation, but also a slightly better story short of a ninety-minute
masterpiece. To my knowledge, this type of movie has never been done before,
and truthfully, I’m astonished it was ever funded to exist in the first place. In
this era of filmmaking, could one really imagine a pitch consisting of filming
a feature about Vincent van Gogh where real life actors play out their
respective parts, and then have all the scenes done over by a few hundred
painters to make the entire film look like an in-motion Van Gogh painting? I
guess in Europe, where hand-drawn animation is still a respected medium, that
answer was a resounding “Yes!” For that, I can safely say, the film world is a
better place thanks to it.
While the story of “Loving Vincent” obviously hearkens to
the life of Van Gogh, and in this case specifically, rural France one year
after his supposed suicide, the focus is more on Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth),
whom is tasked by his postman father to deliver a letter written by Vincent to
his brother Theo a few weeks before his death. Since apparently it was not
illegal at this time to go through other people’s postage, the story of suicide
feels odd to Armand since the tone in Vincent’s letter comes off as entirely
too upbeat for someone considering the path of taking his own life.
Almost immediately, the plot turns from another routine
mission for Armand into a plausible mystery caper or sorts. While at first it
goes in a “What happened?” approach as to why Van Gogh would do such a thing to
himself, it slowly becomes darker and more suspicious with each passing
conversation Armand has with those that were with or spoke to Vincent merely
days before his untimely end. Leads and stories passed on to Armand give the
impression that perhaps it wasn’t a suicide at all, but instead, cold-blooded
murder either out of jealousy for his remarkable talent or out of petty
misunderstandings for his curious, introverted behavior. Eventually, Armand
becomes so absorbed in finding the truth that he grows a complete disregard for
his normal life to the point of losing his employment and his ability to afford
proper housing.
I mentioned in the introduction that “Loving Vincent” was
just short of a masterpiece due to its story, and while that is true from where
I sit, it is still good enough. At no real point in time did I ever get the
feeling that there was drag in the pacing or any particular scenes were
time-wasting filler; however, I was left wanting more. Not necessarily in the way
of anything needing to be added, but clearly there was enough material here to
have made Vincent more present on the screen. Seeing as he’s the one we’re made
to bleed our hearts out for, he was strangely absent.
It was pretty obvious by the end that the goal
narrative-wise was to pull some tears out of the audience, and, sure, the man
died in his prime and came across as a decent human being, so it’s going to be
sad by default to a degree. I only speak for myself on this because I am a
pretty tough egg to crack when it comes to the “feels” and getting the
waterworks going in earnest, so it was a little disappointing that I didn’t get
that soul tug that I was hoping would happen. Nevertheless, though, like I
said, it is a story that is engaging enough, thanks in part to a solid
performance by Douglas Booth, whom had carried nearly the whole thing. The
supporting cast consisting of Saoirse Ronan, Chris O’Dowd, and Jerome Flynn were
top-notch as well.
Moving on to the animation side of this review; this is where I would usually start geeking out, but honestly it’s difficult this time
around. Sure, I could go on about how the wonders of rotoscoping helped these
filmmakers painstakingly churn out easily one of the most original film visual
concepts ever made, but I trust anybody reading this can use Google without my
assistance.
What I can say is that, at least for me, this particular
style takes a few minutes to get used to. I don’t know if any of you are trained
in seeing oil paints move at high speeds with its various textures and
contrasts of light and dark colors, but let’s just say it can be, for lack of a
better term, dizzying. Fortunately, once that settles and eyes are adequately
adjusted, the experience is a rather unforgettable one as one scene fluidly transforms
into another. Even the expressiveness on the characters’ faces come through
astonishingly well considering the slick, glossy appearances of the paint. This
was my main concern going in, and I am very impressed with how well it
translated. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s flawless, though I am certainly
not artistically gifted enough to complain. Still, I think it’s safe to say
that if Vincent were alive to see this, he would be proud.
You may have noticed the disclaimer asterisk that I placed
up top with the statement of “Loving Vincent” being a must see. I put that out
there for those whom are likely to know right off the bat if they are the type
of viewer for a film like this. It’s not at all complicated and overly
contemplative, but it is an art film, and those don’t generally appeal to mass
sensibilities. However, if this does appear on the surface as something you’ve
been curious about but haven’t pulled the trigger on yet, I strongly urge you
to do so. This is the kind of project that makes film exciting; not just as it
is, but what it can also become from here.
This is a feature that deserves all kinds of praise, and
I certainly stand behind mine. Highly recommended!
“Loving Vincent”: 9/10
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