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Patricia Clarkson,
Campbell Scott,
Peter Sarsgaard,
more...
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Craig Lucas,
Craig Lucas
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: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
: Drama
: 95 min.
: English
: English
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An artist who compromises his work for money finds his heart and soul are also being toyed with by his new patrons in this drama. Robert (Peter Sarsgaard) is a playwright who has recently lost his longtime lover and business partner, Malcolm (Bill Camp), to AIDS-related illnesses. Robert has written a screenplay about their relationship, called "The Dying Gaul," and is interested in selling the project to powerful producer Jeffrey (Campbell Scott). However, while Jeffrey likes the script, he tells Robert that he's not about to spend money on a film about a gay couple -- though he'll give him one million dollars for the screenplay under the condition he turns the character of "Maurice" into a woman so the film will be easier to sell. While Robert is secretly appalled by the idea, he's also deep in debt and wants the film to be made, so he agrees to make the changes. Robert is soon invited into the inner circle of Jeffrey and his wife, Elaine (Patricia Clarkson), herself a talented screenwriter until their marriage put an end to her career. Jeffrey finds himself fascinated by Robert, and soon begins seducing him both physically and intellectually, while Elaine is also deeply attracted to him. As Robert and Elaine become close friends, she also begins pursuing him in on-line chat rooms, playing on his emotional weaknesses as she fashions a story of her own. The Dying Gaul was the first directorial credit for playwright and screenwriter Craig Lucas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| A Different Look at Hollywood
by talltale
March 25, 2006 - 3:18 PM PST
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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Over the decades there have been many insider views of Hollywood, from "The Bad and the Beautiful" to "Swimming With Sharks." These are often fun, sometimes savage and rarely uninteresting. One of the most fascinating of all (and expertly written, directed and acted) is THE DYING GAUL, Craig Lucas' look at a Hollywood power broker, his wife and the up-and-coming screenwriter he buys and beds. This is Lucas' first foray into directing, and he's certainly learned his craft.
I saw the NYC production of the play (on which this film is based) some years back and found it an equally fine piece of legitimate theatre (with one of--perhaps the--best stage performances I have ever seen given by a man--Tony Goldwyn). While the movie does not quite match the play's economy and expertise in dealing with hypocrisy, sexuality, the Internet, trust, jealousy and betrayal, it comes close.
The performances by Sarsgaard, Clarkson and Scott are wonderful, and Lucas has opened up his play so well that the viewer feels a sense neither of confinement nor of being forced into new, unnecessary territory. The movie is full of effortlessly smart dialog, and there's not a moment that registers as unbelievable. When melodrama threatens, the actors handle it with great panache. (Even the DVD's alternate ending works quite well.)
This is dark stuff. Lucas seems to be exploring darkness these days, but it is a worthwhile search for him--and for us. His work, from "Blue Window" onwards, continues its exemplary insistence on investigation and honesty coupled to a lovely, caring feeling for all his characters, no matter who they are or what they do. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.76)
38 Votes
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