Amadeus

Once again, I must disappoint: I didn’t go to the theater this week. But instead, I watched a DVD I had wanted to see for a long time. It follows the life and times of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Led by acclaimed director Milos Forman, and championed by Tom Hulce as Amadeus, this film brings us the final years of the great composer’s life, his turmoil, his strife, and his relationship to his father. And despite the length of the film, it doesn’t disappoint.

It’s important to know that you don’t have to be a fan of classical music to enjoy this story. In fact, it’s not really about the music at all. It’s a family story about how a man’s work can take toll on the stability of his family life. Amadeus is an upcoming, bright composer trying to find work to support himself. His father, a wealthy respected German man is angered at his son’s decision to move to Italy and explore the world of the arts. In Italy, Amadeus meets a young woman, Elizabeth Berridge, and falls in love. They get married, and start their life together on an artists pay. Struggling to put food on the table, Mozart produces several operas, all of which are taken in with less than expected excitement. The Magic Flute, perhaps one of Mozart’s greatest operas, is accepted with the same excitement one would expect at a third grade play about growing oranges. This, of course, causes more and more tension between him and his wife.

A child is born, and once again, more stress is placed on the maddening artist. He takes to the drink, and composes furiously, creating several of his greatest pieces of all time: Don Giovanni. His stress is greatly amplified when a rival composer, Antonio Salieri played by F Murray Abraham, tries to ruin his work. In a final struggle to provide for his wife and child, Mozart ignores ordered bed rest, and composes his Requiem, which in tern causes his death.

Before the age of epics such as Gladiator, the Aviator, Lord of the Rings, etc., this film set the stage for historical storytelling. And though the story is somewhat familiar to us, we are still interested in watching it all come about. As said, this isn’t a story about an artist that makes music, and performs it. It’s a story about a husband, father, and son, and the tensions and pressure to be successful in a job market that just wasn’t accepting to his talents.

The direction and acting in this film is solid and enjoyable. Each character involved had a purpose, and was more than just a cardboard image of a man/woman. The drama isn’t overbearing, so when we watch Mozart fall from his pedestal, we actually feel bad. Visually this film isn’t set apart from most historical films. The sets and costumes were all what would be expected. The cinematography was also pretty standard: no boring shots, but nothing to comment on either. What makes this film enjoyable is the ability to relate to something that happened so long ago to someone so famous. We all think Mozart: a great composer who lived in the time of classical music. But no, this film makes us think: Mozart, a man who struggled to pay the bills and loved his wife and child so much, it toppled him off his stable grounds. What makes a film great is the power to relate, and I believe this film has just that.

It’s enjoyable and worth a rent if you have time. It’s one of the better films I’ve seen, but for some reason, I hold back on an eager recommendation. 7.25 of 10