At Eternity's Gate (2018)

What makes At Eternity's Gate work isn't the story. The tale of a rejected artist and his struggle to find recognition and mental health is as old as the hills. Van Gogh's story has been told before in other films so we aren't seeing anything new here, well except for one piece which I will return to later. But what struck me about the film is a combination of Willem Dafoe's lovely performance and director Julian Schnabel's wandering, almost distracted camera, which finds a great deal of beauty as it tells the story of the famous artist.

Schnabel moves his camera around frenetically, setting us firming in his Van Gogh's mind which is also racing. He puts us right into the beautiful European countryside, the pastorals which inspired the artist's work. And he gets us to a place where we experience his art being made. We can feel it. Schnabel does a wonderful job of setting the feeling necessary for his subject.

As does Dafoe. His portrait of a gentle, sad, and frightened Vincent is heart breaking. He personifies Schnabel's vision of the character and he is amazing to watch. And he brings the work to life. Together Schnabel and Dafoe generate a feeling of art being made.

I said there was one part which may be refreshingly new. The film doesn't treat his "madness" as a bad thing but as a place for his respite. He even asks at one point if he really does want to "get better." I think as we understand different ways of understanding the world, this theme is an interesting one to explore. 

That all makes for a stunning film. One wicked performance shot in a gorgeous if ramshackle way. It is riveting and beautiful. The story in itself may not have kept me enraptured for the entirety of the runtime. For me it wasn't the story I was invested in. I was invested in the passion and the esthetics. I am not saying the story was bad or even poorly told. It just wasn't something that grabbed me. It was the rest of it which grabbed me.

At Eternity's Gate
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Mads Mikkelson, Mathieu Almalric, Oscar Isaac
Director: Julian Schnable
Writers: Jean-Claude Carriere, Louise Kugelberg, Julian Schnable