 exploration of Ludwig<br />
Van Beethoven’s life in his final days, while working on his famed Ninth<br />
Symphony, <i style=)
Copying Beethoven draws a
lot of inspiration from the soaring notes of the music itself, and comes packaged
with a powerhouse performance from Ed Harris, an inspired casting choice. Still,
Copying Beethoven can’t help but feel
very contrived at certain key moments, and the falseness of these impertinent devices
weigh heavy on the film.
Beethoven aims to impart its lushly photographed drama through a romanticized
shorthand of the mercurial nature of brilliance and an awkwardly constructed
mentorship. Set in 1824, years since Beethoven’s last success, the movie
focuses on the time in the genius composer’s life when he is most plagued by loneliness
and personal trauma. As he’s aging and functionally deaf, a copyist is urgently
needed to help Beethoven finish his symphony in time for its scheduled debut performance.
Young conservatory student Anna Holtz (National
Treasure’s Diane Kruger) is recommended for the position, and the stubborn
battle of wills ensues, leading up to the symphony’s grand unveiling.
figures to the screen, having jumped behind the camera and tackled the title
role in 2000’s Pollock, which earned costar
Marcia Gay Harden a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Truth be told, the intensity
of Harris’ mesmerizing performance here notwithstanding, that film was a much
more interesting and adept exploration of an artist’s torment. Written and
produced by Stephen Rivele and Christopher Wikinson (Ali, Nixon), Copying Beethoven has the rich sense of period
detail you might expect from such accomplished big-screen biographers, but the movie
lacks subtlety to an astounding degree. Kruger is game, and certainly attractive,
but having her correct key musical mistakes in her employer’s work and, in the
end, co-conduct the material from the orchestra pit, gives off the decidedly misleading
impression of Beethoven as a doddering senior citizen. It rankles and rings
false, even without knowing a lot about the time period. Matthew Goode (Match Point, The Lookout), Ralph Riach and Bill Stewart, meanwhile, all co-star.
is presented on a double-sided, single-layered disc, in 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer that preserves the aspect ratio of its original theatrical
exhibition, but only delivers a so-so job on color-matching; some scenes seem
washed out, and not by artistic choice. Audio comes in a 5.1 Dolby surround sound
track that makes rich, evocative use of its rear channels for a symphonic fullness;
a Spanish language Dolby surround track and optional English and Spanish
subtitles are also included. DVD special features consist of an audio
commentary track with
Harris, folded together from discrete recordings; a collection of five deleted
scenes with optional commentary by
and a 10-minute making-of featurette that focuses almost entirely on the orchestral
ensemble scenes. C- (Movie) B- (Disc)