Robert Altman's flawed but compelling biography wants to explore the gap dividing creativity and commerce, but outside of a few temper tantrums the troubled relationship between the two Van Gogh siblings never quite finds the elusive balance between the business of art and the art of business. Brother Theo, the dealer whose passion for Vincent's work was equaled only by his inability to find a market for it, is presented in the role of Jekyll to his brother's unstable Hyde, and the tension of their mutual dependence on each other is reflected in a pair of dynamic performances. Both are shown to be equally neurotic and compulsive, but Altman clearly identifies with the under-appreciated artist, introduced in a stunning prologue contrasting his poverty with a multi-million dollar posthumous auction of one of his paintings. Altman can't sustain the same energy over the film's punishing 140-minute length, and his portrait of the artist can only take us as close as the brushstrokes on one of Vincent's canvasses. But if nothing else the unique cinematic style is unlikely to displease the director's many admirers, who at the time had been waiting for him to make a genuine film again.
Review of Vincent & Theo
