Scan and Pan
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story
The story follows Conway from victim to victim, taking advantage of their generosity to obtain money, valuable gifts, food, alcohol, and in some cases even sex (but the last only from handsome young men). As his metaphorical house built on deceit begins to collapse around him, he fakes mental illness to avoid prosecution.
Director Brian Cook and writer Anthony Frewin, both longtime assistants to Kubrick, serve up a sly look at how the power of presumed celebrity successfully exploits the vanity of a con man's marks. Conway's victims fall over themselves ("over the moon, I am", one of them says) for the attention of a man they believe is a famous director, and the film deftly satirizes the public's obsession with celebrity to the point of behaving irrationally.
It isn't a deep examination of the inner workings of Conway's mind, but it isn't intended to be. It's an entertainingly droll comedy with a great leading performance. Several scenes are affectionate homages to Kubrick's films (including a funny variation on the famous "I'm Spartacus!" scene), while the cheerfully absurdist tone is reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove and A Clockwork Orange. Much of the music is taken from Kubrick's films, with some original music and songs contributed by Bryan Adams.
John Malkovich is sublime in a comedic turn as Conway, a fey charmer who turns name dropping into an art form that allows him to separate gullible people from their money. In the wrong hands, an unapologetic user of people like Conway could be unlikable, but Malkovich carries the film by making us fall for Conway just like his victims do. No one plays an eccentric quite like he does.
The rest of the cast is also quite good, with Jim Davidson, Richard E. Grant, Henry Goodman, and Nitin Ganatra as some of Conway's victims; Burn Gorman (Owen on Torchwood) as a Droogish-looking punk; Ayesha Dharker as the psychiatrist Conway manipulates into declaring him mentally ill; Marc Warren (Elton in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters") as a potential victim who turns the tables by tricking Conway into revealing himself as a fraud; Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler on Doctor Who) as a Maitre D'; and William Hootkins and Marisa Berenson as critic Frank Rich and his wife. Leslie Phillips, Honor Blackman, and Ken Russell also have fun cameos.
It's an amusing film, even more so if you're familiar with the films of Stanley Kubrick. John Malkovich's performance is worth the price of admission alone. Recommended.
Loosely based on the true story of Alan Conway, a failed travel agent turned alcoholic confidence man who successfully impersonated film director Stanley Kubrick in the 1990s.
The story follows Conway from victim to victim, taking advantage of their generosity to obtain money, valuable gifts, food, alcohol, and in some cases even sex (but the last only from handsome young men). As his metaphorical house built on deceit begins to collapse around him, he fakes mental illness to avoid prosecution.
Director Brian Cook and writer Anthony Frewin, both longtime assistants to Kubrick, serve up a sly look at how the power of presumed celebrity successfully exploits the vanity of a con man's marks. Conway's victims fall over themselves ("over the moon, I am", one of them says) for the attention of a man they believe is a famous director, and the film deftly satirizes the public's obsession with celebrity to the point of behaving irrationally.
It isn't a deep examination of the inner workings of Conway's mind, but it isn't intended to be. It's an entertainingly droll comedy with a great leading performance. Several scenes are affectionate homages to Kubrick's films (including a funny variation on the famous "I'm Spartacus!" scene), while the cheerfully absurdist tone is reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove and A Clockwork Orange. Much of the music is taken from Kubrick's films, with some original music and songs contributed by Bryan Adams.
John Malkovich is sublime in a comedic turn as Conway, a fey charmer who turns name dropping into an art form that allows him to separate gullible people from their money. In the wrong hands, an unapologetic user of people like Conway could be unlikable, but Malkovich carries the film by making us fall for Conway just like his victims do. No one plays an eccentric quite like he does.
The rest of the cast is also quite good, with Jim Davidson, Richard E. Grant, Henry Goodman, and Nitin Ganatra as some of Conway's victims; Burn Gorman (Owen on Torchwood) as a Droogish-looking punk; Ayesha Dharker as the psychiatrist Conway manipulates into declaring him mentally ill; Marc Warren (Elton in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters") as a potential victim who turns the tables by tricking Conway into revealing himself as a fraud; Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler on Doctor Who) as a Maitre D'; and William Hootkins and Marisa Berenson as critic Frank Rich and his wife. Leslie Phillips, Honor Blackman, and Ken Russell also have fun cameos.
It's an amusing film, even more so if you're familiar with the films of Stanley Kubrick. John Malkovich's performance is worth the price of admission alone. Recommended.
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