There have been many portrayals of Van Gogh onscreen. Part of what makes [Willem] Dafoe's interpretation so successful is his outright refusal to present him as a madman.
At Eternity's Gate mainly succeeds, dusting off a century's worth of global celebrity to both animate a suffering soul and rescue a radical artistic mission from the museum gift shop.
Elegantly aimless direction of Julian Schnabel, who doesn't seem interested in deviating from the party line on van Gogh as a loner, a loon, a late bloomer and a lost cause.
Dafoe's elegiac quality hints at why the artist was ahead of his time: because he saw more than anyone else could. It's a towering performance in a movie that casts a magnetic spell.
Dafoe adds another masterful performance to his resume; his work here is as deep and as piercing as his performance in "The Last Temptation of Christ" more than 30 years ago.
With rich, convincing lead performances by Willem Dafoe and Oscar Isaac, the film breathes with a love of art and the toil it demands. Working with brilliant French cinematographer Benoit Delhomme, the film is an ever-pleasing swirl of style.
