Synopsis
Maurice is an aging veteran actor who becomes taken with Jessie, the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit of his wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don't know about themselves.
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Cast
- Peter O'TooleMaurice
- Leslie PhillipsIan
- Jodie WhittakerJessie
- Vanessa RedgraveValerie
- Richard GriffithsDonald
- Cathryn BradshawJillian
- Beatrice SavorettiWaitress
- Philip FoxDoctor
- Lolita ChakrabartiHealth Centre Nurse
- Carolina GiammettaHealth Centre Nurse
Recommendations
- 100
Los Angeles Times
Told with wit, genuine poignancy and all kinds of humor, Venus charts the unlikely relationship between a man in his 70s and a young woman more than half a century his junior. - 90
Newsweek
A heartbreaking comedy that is simultaneously funny and sad, raunchy and sweet, funky and elegiac. These fresh, unexpected juxtapositions are a specialty of the writer Hanif Kureishi ("My Beautiful Laundrette"), a sworn enemy of cliché. - 83
Christian Science Monitor
The screenplay is by Hanif Kureishi, who wrote "The Mother" for Michell and also scripted the classic "My Beautiful Laundrette." He has a feeling for outsiders. - 80
Village Voice
Maurice, the protagonist of Venus, is a suit lovingly tailored to O'Toole's ravaged but commanding frame. - 80
Wall Street Journal
Awash in terrific performances. - 80
The New York Times
Since the movie is about desire -- not so much for sex as for the vitality and surprise that sex can provide -- it is also about power. Few writers can match Mr. Kureishi's knowing wit on this subject, or his skill at dissecting the shifting dynamics of longing and domination. - 75
Rolling Stone
O'Toole gives a staggering performance -- fearless, defiantly untamed and in its own way a work of art. - 75
ReelViews
This is a brave movie because it addresses a subject Hollywood feels uncomfortable about.
