"There's something inside me. I don't know what it is. What I see, nobody else sees and sometimes it frightens me. I think I'm losing my mind."
At Eternity's Gate is a sad and bleak biopic about Vincent van Gogh's deep dive into madness. Sharing the same title as one of his most famous paintings, director Julian Schnabel attempts to capture the true artistry of the one of the world's greatest painters.
There are quite a few things that annoyed me about this film. First off, the language bothered me. The writing isn't that great to begin with, but the accents and languages used (French/English) are inconsistent. This problem isn't unique to just this movie; dozens do it. It makes no sense for Willem Dafoe to be speaking in French, then in English, then in French again. In addition, some of the English is spoken with a heavy French accent. It's annoying and eliminates any sense of authenticity.
Also, this is one of those movies that tries too hard to be artsy. At times, I really liked some of the cinematography and style, but at other times, it's a disaster. There are many repeated lines that go on for minutes, and the redundancy kills the effect. I understand Schnabel is trying to put the audience in van Goghs perspective, but it's waaaay overdone.
The acting is a tad overdone as well. This is a two hour movie of Willem Dafoe trying way to hard for an Oscar. The film also stars a mustachioed Oscar Isaac and contains an obligatory art house appearance from Mads Mikkelsen.
Despite all my criticisms, I don't hate this movie. It's really a beautiful film, though I didn't learn too much from it. It's also very drawn out, but the scenery is worth the lenght. As a casual admirer or van Gogh's paintings, I feel this movie succeedes in doing justice to him and his work, I just can't see myself recommending it to anyone.
At Eternity's Gate is a sad and bleak biopic about Vincent van Gogh's deep dive into madness. Sharing the same title as one of his most famous paintings, director Julian Schnabel attempts to capture the true artistry of the one of the world's greatest painters.
There are quite a few things that annoyed me about this film. First off, the language bothered me. The writing isn't that great to begin with, but the accents and languages used (French/English) are inconsistent. This problem isn't unique to just this movie; dozens do it. It makes no sense for Willem Dafoe to be speaking in French, then in English, then in French again. In addition, some of the English is spoken with a heavy French accent. It's annoying and eliminates any sense of authenticity.
Also, this is one of those movies that tries too hard to be artsy. At times, I really liked some of the cinematography and style, but at other times, it's a disaster. There are many repeated lines that go on for minutes, and the redundancy kills the effect. I understand Schnabel is trying to put the audience in van Goghs perspective, but it's waaaay overdone.
The acting is a tad overdone as well. This is a two hour movie of Willem Dafoe trying way to hard for an Oscar. The film also stars a mustachioed Oscar Isaac and contains an obligatory art house appearance from Mads Mikkelsen.
Despite all my criticisms, I don't hate this movie. It's really a beautiful film, though I didn't learn too much from it. It's also very drawn out, but the scenery is worth the lenght. As a casual admirer or van Gogh's paintings, I feel this movie succeedes in doing justice to him and his work, I just can't see myself recommending it to anyone.