‘Seneca’ Review: John Malkovich Shows Dogged Determination As Titular Stoic Philosopher
21.02.2023 - 01:09
/ deadline.com
German director Robert Schwentke’s directorial career has swung in a few directions; he has made Hollywood actioners like Flightplan with Jodie Foster, the adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife and a film that almost defines the idea of a personal movie, based on his own diagnosis with testicular cancer. He has both written and directed Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes, an eccentric competition choice, even by the inclusive standards of the Berlinale – starring John Malkovich as the eponymous Stoic philosopher. Over two hours, he delivers what is largely a monologue: as a performance, it has at least the strength of dogged determination. As a film, however, Seneca is almost unendurable.
Shot in and around an open colonnaded pavilion constructed in the Moroccan desert, Seneca draws on Roman historian Tacitus’ account of the great thinker’s reluctant suicide in AD 65. A celebrated public figure, Seneca is also on the young but already completely crazy Emperor Nero’s payroll as a classical combination of speechwriter, life coach and spin doctor. It’s not really a job for life. As Nero (Tom Xander) abandons the idea of trying to make placatory speeches in favor of 24-7 debauchery, his mother Agrippina (Mary-Louise Parker) warns Seneca to retire to his estate and keep a low profile.
Schwentke describes his approach to updating Tacitus as “aggressive anachronism”. Nero is addressed as Mr. President and makes reference to his own stability as a leader, an opportunity for audiences to share a knowing snicker. Seneca describes his socialite visitor Cecilia, a witchy Geraldine Chaplin, as “a one-woman opiate crisis”: yes, even the ancients had their drug fiends. Nero, famous for fiddling while Rome burned, plays heavy
The website celebfans.org is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.