Vincent & Theo

Director Robert Altman is well-known for his experimental approaches to filmmaking, and his latest, Vincent and Theo, certainly carries some of the Altman trademarks which have either endeared him to or alienated him from viewers. Two of these Altman touches are apparent right away: his increasing tendency throughout the past decade to lean more towards the conventions of the stage and less towards cinema, and his occasionally maddening technique of having the actors speak at the same time. Tim Roth is remarkable as Vincent Van Gogh, the troubled 19th-century artist who was tortured by loneliness and lack of success. Paul Rhys stars as Theo, Vincent's art gallery operator brother. The focus of the film is on the relationship between the brothers, rather than on Van Gogh's development as an artist. Over the first half of this very long and stately paced film, we see Vincent struggling with his art, his botched love life, and his dependency on Theo for financial means. In the second half, Vincent strikes up a disastrous friendship with Gauguin (Wladimir Yordanoff), which doesn't work, and when Gauguin leaves, Vincent steadily spirals down into madness. In the meantime, the syphilitic Theo has taken a bride and had a child, making the financial obligations of caring for both his family and his brother a double burden. Although some of Altman's latest films, such as Streamers and Secret Honor, have been very satisfying (to me), Vincent & Theo often struck me as a thinly veiled pout from Altman about how little society values the artist. It's unfortunate that a director of Altman's stature feels the need to defend himself, when his greatest work speaks so eloquently for itself. There is an audience, albeit not a mainstream one, for Vincent & Theo, and it definitely belongs in a library's cinema collection. It's quite engaging, but had the underappreciated artist subtheme been left on the cutting room floor, it could have been a great film. Recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—Sept. 20, 2005—MGM, 140 min., PG-13, $14.95—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1990's Vincent & Theo sports a nice transfer with Dolby Digital surround sound. DVD extras include a 30-minute 'Film as Fine Art' making-of featurette with director Robert Altman and his Oscar-nominated production designer son Stephen, and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a fine film.] [DVD/Blu-ray Review—Mar. 24, 2015—Olive, 138 min., PG-13, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1990's Vincent & Theo sports a decent transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition, but no extras aside from a trailer. Bottom line: Altman's biopic makes a solid high-def debut.]