At Eternity's Gate

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Issac, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner

Director: Julian Schnabel

Vincent van Gogh (Willem Dafoe) is struggling to sell his paintings. After his idea for an artists showcase blows up in his face, he meets Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac) whose friendship he uses to fuel his next round of paintings inspired by the landscapes in Arles, France. Despite the fact that van Gogh is beginning to suffer delusions and isn’t caring for himself properly, he receives support from his brother Theo (Rupert Friend) and Gauguin. However, when Gauguin has to leave his side, van Gogh severs his ear and gets himself committed. In the following months, he paints close to 65 paintings before his death by gunshot wound. Willem Dafoe is getting lots of praise for his performance. He is good in the role, despite being much older than van Gogh was at the time of these events at age 37. It doesn’t necessarily hurt the film but it is a distinction that needs to be noted. I also think he is getting slightly overpraised, as many are probably just excited to see him in a non-villain/creepy role, which he normally performs. The pacing of the film is quite meditative and despite running less than two hours, feels much longer than it really is. I don’t feel like I learned anything new or groundbreaking about van Gogh. In fact, as I will mention later it muddies history a little. For such a meditative film, the cinematography doesn’t mesh with that aesthetic, often employing chaotic and jarring handheld camera movements which would have made Paul Greengrass vomit. It’s especially noticeable when the camera does finally settle down during a scene only to shift back to shaky cam out of nowhere. It borders on unwatchable at times. The film also provides a revisionist approach to his death. The film posits that van Gogh was actually shot and killed by two boys, instead of a suicide. However, in his last 30 hours as he was dying, he never mentioned them. It’s an odd note for the film to end on. Despite a good, if slightly overpraised performance from Willem Dafoe, the artistic choices that were made make it hard to fully recommend the film. Bring your motion sickness medication. C+