Copying Beethoven

Directed by Agnieszka Holland

MGM

3 stars



Final masterpieces have a real way of bringing a man down. Director Agnieszka Holland’s latest film “Copying Beethoven” captures such a slump, showing us the last, deafened days of Beethoven, with the Ninth at his back.

Holland, who directed “The Secret Garden,” enlists Ed Harris to play the German genius, and though both director and star create much bluster and intensity, neither of them offer the audience much more than empty sound and fury.

Apart from the music itself, the story told in the film is blatantly fictitious and will likely offend the aficionado’s sense of history. The role of a twenty-something copyist, played by the lovely Diane Kruger (“Troy”), is a device created by the film’s writers to see into the last days of an increasingly reclusive Beethoven.

In a typical Hollywood move, the copyist is—miracle of miracles!—also an aspiring composer. The vague plot of the movie follows the developing relationship between Anna and Beethoven, based—presumably—on their infatuation with music.

If the audience doesn’t benefit from anything else after seeing this movie, hopefully they will appreciate the dedication of Ed Harris’s performance. He thrusts himself through the role with a dedication to character that flexes his underrated chops.

The climactic scene in which the symphony makes its debut can’t help but captivate an audience. Shot in a magnificently ornate theater, the scene features Harris ferociously shaping the enormous sound that is the Ninth. One can hardly see the difference between Harris and the music.

It is here that the aficionado will not be disappointed. Both the music and the dialogue about it are true to the earth-shattering changes Beethoven’s Ninth brought to the world.

The strengths of this film stop, though, with Harris’ performance and Beethoven’s masterpieces.

Anna’s relationship with Beethoven is confusing and awkward, ultimately detracting more than it contributes. I am by no means faint of heart when it comes to sappy romance, but the connection between Beethoven and Anna simply made me uncomfortable.

One particular scene of unappealing sexual tension finds the copyist “lovingly” sponge-bathing the naked, overweight, ailing, and ancient Beethoven. Spare us.

The acting job of Diane Kruger is also a letdown. The creation of her character was inherently risky, but she does a poor job selling it. Her emotion is forced, and she seems as confused as the audience as to the necessity of her character. The smattering of 19th century female gender issues throughout the film were also accordingly lost on her acting performance.

Filmed primarily in soundstages and on location in Budapest, the film is also disappointingly confined to cramped rooms. Perhaps the director was trying to convey the lifestyle of hermit Beethoven; still, the film gives no impression of actually occurring in Vienna.

Bottom Line: What could have been essential for Beethoven enthusiasts and laymen alike is, in fact, disappointing for both. The Ninth Symphony is captivating, but maybe you should see “A Clockwork Orange” first.