Fine artistic student/teacher piece, obviously echoing shades of Amadeus, borrows only those classical elements which remain timeless. Bolstered by an assured take by the reliable, hardly recognizable Ed Harris, Copying Beethoven manages to be both a study into the masterful composer's treacherous inner workings and his imaginary end-career partnership with a young female copyist. Thrown into the situation a few days before the historical debut of his 9th symphony, the movie may have a hard time finding it's audience with a lack of background, rendering the historical fiction confusing and irrelevant. And die hard fans seem off- put by the strange liberties the script takes with it's usage of the female counterpoint dealing with the maestros rather unhealthy behavior. Those left in the middle to enjoy this moving piece of faction (that would be fact mixed with fiction), could be pleasantly surprised by some enticingly heavy scenes, articulating the creative spirit in ways that have all but been lost in modern movies of the past decade.
Strangely reminiscent, though definitely superior to her misaligned study of the great poet Rimbaud in Total Eclipse, Agnieszka Holland proves that she is driven to portray the underlying creative genius present throughout history's chosen few. Powerfully setting out to capture what it is that makes one truly brilliant, (ignore the first scene's horribly edited montage) Holland again taps into that artistic and creative spirit which seems like such a viable and malleable subject yet is afforded little concern. The sensitive homage to tortured genius is refreshing, in all of it's musical and creative intellectual buffoonery.
Harris gets to continue his legendary-artist-portraying fetish, probably being one of the few American-raised actors who could manage to play the exalted genius without coming across as completely inept. The large screen time afforded his female co-lead Diane Kruger comes with some mixed results, though ultimately her beauty only intensifies a melodic passion her character gravitates towards.
A general negativity geared towards the movie doesn't do this one justice. Beethoven's staggering character still hasn't found the definitive film, and this largely pointless fictionalization of the composer's last years will do nothing for those studying the man. Still, Harris' performance remains a decadently fun affair, increasingly relevant to anyone who embraces musical composition, wants to walk with a raving genius, and otherwise longs for a taste of divine intervention themselves.
Strangely reminiscent, though definitely superior to her misaligned study of the great poet Rimbaud in Total Eclipse, Agnieszka Holland proves that she is driven to portray the underlying creative genius present throughout history's chosen few. Powerfully setting out to capture what it is that makes one truly brilliant, (ignore the first scene's horribly edited montage) Holland again taps into that artistic and creative spirit which seems like such a viable and malleable subject yet is afforded little concern. The sensitive homage to tortured genius is refreshing, in all of it's musical and creative intellectual buffoonery.
Harris gets to continue his legendary-artist-portraying fetish, probably being one of the few American-raised actors who could manage to play the exalted genius without coming across as completely inept. The large screen time afforded his female co-lead Diane Kruger comes with some mixed results, though ultimately her beauty only intensifies a melodic passion her character gravitates towards.
A general negativity geared towards the movie doesn't do this one justice. Beethoven's staggering character still hasn't found the definitive film, and this largely pointless fictionalization of the composer's last years will do nothing for those studying the man. Still, Harris' performance remains a decadently fun affair, increasingly relevant to anyone who embraces musical composition, wants to walk with a raving genius, and otherwise longs for a taste of divine intervention themselves.