Thursday, August 30, 2012

Pickman’s Muse is Not Greek: A Movie Review


Director: Robert Cappelletto.

Writers: Robert Cappelletto and H.P. Lovecraft.

Cast: Barret Walz, Maurice McNicholas, Tom Lodewyck, Joyce Porter, and Mike Dobray.

Fans of H.P. Lovecraft may be thrilled to find two tales rolled into one in Pickman’s Muse. Readers will find the character from “Pickman’s Model” tossed into the horrors found in “Haunter in the Dark.”

In this movie, he is named Robert Pickman (Barret Walz) than Richard. The protagonist is a painter who loses his inspiration and desire to create. But one morning, the skies are alive with a beckoning golden vista with the tower of a dilapidated church speaking to him. Cinematographer Robert Cappelletto does an amazing job in making camera magic. He is like Picasso when considering how careful the hues and saturations work in the lighting of the cityscape and interior sets. To capture a golden sunrise really requires knowing how the video camera works.

As a director, Cappelletto does a reasonable job at providing some mystery into what Pickman is painting. The only problem is that not all the performers can imagine the truly grotesque and flee in fright. The paintings are never revealed to viewers. A suspension of disbelief is really required to show everyone is afraid of Pickman, and in what he becomes.

Walz does a great job at showing how socially awkward Pickman is and in how confidence grows in the character. By mid-film, he becomes a beast. He turns into a man obsessed with his art. And the terror that develops is in seeing how Pickman falls pray to his demons.

Like a similar product, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, to watch a hero descend to madness can make for some great moments. The film begins slowly in developing the normalcy of life, especially in the dreariness of Pickman’s life. Cappelletto effectively drives Walz to develop that pathos. But as certain clues reveal themselves, like the mention of the "Church of Starry Wisdom," the tale turns into a classic Lovecraftian tale.

The story even changes focus to look at Dr. Dexter’s (Maurice McNicolas) attempt to treat Pickman. He is concerned for his “star” patient. But when the psychiatrist realizes that Pickman is recreating the works of Goodie Hines (Tom Lodewyck), he finds that he can correct a mistake he made a long time ago. He becomes the unknown narrator that is often found in Lovecraft’s works. When the film cannot decide whom to follow, the balancing act between Pickman and Dexter is very nicely done to keep audiences glued till the very end.

Unfortunately, this movie does not know when to offer that final punch. The movie lacks the oomph found in Lovecraft’s tales when the discovery is made. Had this film have ended at a different point, that would have made this movie all the more better. Or even better, stuck with one lead character as its key focus.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

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