Immortal Beloved
For Ludwig van Beethoven’s hypothetical birthday of December 16th, 1770, here is a review of Immortal Beloved.
Despite being a biographical picture that tried to do something else, Bernard Rose’s Immortal Beloved unfortunately has the element of being impossible to separate from other works. Firstly, there’s Amadeus, the Mozart biopic from ten years prior, that dived into the legacy of a composer with much better ease; part of this is Immortal Beloved’s reliance on its leading star, Gary Oldman, to carry the bulk of the weight, whereas Amadeus feels complete throughout the picture (and just happens to have masterful performances). That’s the comparison that’s often made when Immortal Beloved is brought up, but I have a couple of my own. The first one is Citizen Kane: the idea that we’re searching for answer surrounding the recipient of Ludwig van Beethoven’s estate after he has passed as if she was his “Rosebud”. The main difference is Immortal Beloved’s quest is resolved much sooner (or at least guessable from an early point), turning the picture more into a recount of Beethoven’s personal life rather than being the curiosity of his legacy.
At least Immortal Beloved is trying, and it’s certainly a step up from the many diabolically boring biopics of the ‘80s and ‘90s that couldn’t separate themselves from the rulebook if it would save their filmmakers’ lives. Immortal Beloved still covers a lot of the common ground, but the point is it did try to get lost a little bit. Despite all of this, at least there’s ‘90s Gary Oldman (bless him) who was still labelled as the eccentric chameleon actor of the age (note: he wasn’t a method actor, as is commonly misconceived about him). Sure, we might know Oldman as a more versatile actor now that can take on more dramatic fare. However, seeing this back in ‘94 was exactly what his career needed. Sure, he did spice up his take on Beethoven quite a bit, but there was a level of range that the world desperately needed to get familiar with. If anything, I kind of miss this Gary Oldman, who is dramatically cooperative (and not overly wild), yet still off enough to be really exciting. I almost feel like this side of Oldman is gone; he’s still fantastic as an actor that can disappear into roles, but this certain amount of intangibility is what made him one of cinema’s most curious actors.
Gary Oldman turns in one of his best performances, helping to save Immortal Beloved.
As the imperfect musical genius Beethovan — stabbed by his personal demons and the events of his final days — Oldman is as fascinating as he is unrecognizable. He might have stolen films and scenes before, but to me this was the very moment where he became an untouchable leading man. He doesn’t just hoist Immortal Beloved: he basically saves it, and makes it a must-watch in any capacity. Otherwise, Immortal Beloved would have been a so-so affair, plagued by insufficiency. Sure, its elaborate sets and costumes and Beethoven’s unforgettable music might also help, but it is Oldman that helps Immortal Beloved past its narrative lulls and become a film of its own. Sure, comparing it to other works is entirely the fault of the viewer, but it doesn’t make an unengaged story any more exciting. That’s what Gary Oldman does (especially throughout the ‘90s): he takes mediocrity and makes it at least worthwhile. Like many films in the ‘90s, watch this for Gary Oldman at least.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.