Artists, painters especially, make for difficult movie subjects. It's often easier to study the painting than the painter. Pollock's a case in point. Ed Harris' efforts notwithstanding, Pollock the movie wasn't a spellbinder and in the end revealed nothing of the man. Perhaps Francis Bacon is an easier subject because this film by John Maybury is, I think, the most successful attempt to bring an artist's inner life to the screen. Certainly, the film's not without its flaws. Daniel Craig's a more convincing James Bond than he is an opportunistic bit of rough, caught up in a new, seductive world. Jacobi, on the other hand, is mesmerizing as Bacon, relishing every moment of his screen time. Better still is an unrecognizable Tilda Swinton as Muriel Belcher, the owner of The Colony Room. That's a film in itself. What makes this film the artistic success that it is, is that it takes Bacon's style and transmutes it onto celluloid. I came away from watching Love Is the Devil with an understanding and appreciation of Bacon's work that I'd lacked.
