The Burnt Orange Heresy
In case you’re wondering whether Dutch actor Claes Bang makes a good antihero, you should know that he went from The Burnt Orange Heresy to playing the title role in a new BBC miniseries based on Dracula. Like the Count, the seductive James, an art critic, is provocative and dangerous, keeping his dark side largely hidden. The much-younger Berenice (Elizabeth Debicki, The Great Gatsby) seems to find him irresistible.
Heresy is a drama with four strong characters with conflicting agendas, each trying to get something out of one or more of the others. Set largely in Milan and on Lake Como in northern Italy, the film pits James, a shameless manipulator and expert liar, against Cassidy (Mick Jagger), an unscrupulous and enormously wealthy art collector. Both men want something out of reclusive American artist Jerome Debney (Donald Sutherland), whose works have not been seen publicly in fifty years. Debney happens to be living in a cottage on Cassidy’s estate, and the collector wants one of his paintings. James just wants an exclusive interview to resurrect his damaged reputation.
It sounds rather esoteric, but it’s quite engaging trying to figure out who’s lying about what. Think The Talented Mr. Ripley crossed with one of the darker Coen Brothers movies, and you’ve got the idea. The dialogue (by screenwriter Scott B. Smith) is crisp and literate, with many confessional monologues (some of them bogus), and the visual style is best described as Sundance noir. Italian director Giuseppe Capotondi has only done one other feature, but he’s directed a lot of television and demonstrates confidence in both complicated conversations and more sinister doings.
Sutherland’s character is by far the most intriguing, and he turns on the charm without overplaying his character’s eccentricities. Jagger plays his part well enough, even if he’s interesting to watch mostly because he’s Jagger. Bang is sexy and self-assured and keeps James appropriately impenetrable and unbalanced.
The weak link in this four-loop chain is Berenice — not because of Debicki, who does great work with a difficult part. No, this drama created by two male writers (it’s based on a novel by Charles Willeford) and one male director has no real idea how to make the female Berenice credible. Her actions are driven more by plot needs than by convincing character, and in the finale she makes a couple decisions that defy all logic. She’s also burdened with the fuzziest and least interesting back story. Debicki deserves better.
Still, the film’s irony-rich finale retains some power, and the pleasures of a (mostly) well-written drama of clashing liars are rare in these days of earnest indies and superheroes. If you’re a fan of the Ripley movies, The Burnt Orange Heresy is not a bad substitute.
Grade: B. Rated R. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes, and other streaming platforms.
(Photo: Sony Pictures Classics)
