LOVE IS THE DEVIL (dir. John Maybury) The film concerns the Irish born English figurative painter Francis Bacon, and focuses on his life in the early 1960's when he was one of the central figures in a group of dissipated and debauched intellectuals at the Colony Room, a private drinking club in London's Soho district. Bacon's portrait style during this period is reminiscent of the work of contemporary American artist, Ralph Steadman in that both artists render their subjects in a bloated or garishly distorted manner. And, John Maybury, the director of LOVE IS THE DEVIL conveys this aspect of Bacon's painting style by shooting parts of the film using curious time-lapsed techniques, odd camera angles, and blurred optical abnormalities that really highlight Francis Bacon's cracked artistic vision. Derek Jacobi is note perfect as the dissolute, alcoholic painter, and Daniel Craig is surprisingly convincing as Bacon's thuggish lover, George Dyer. And, Tilda Swinton is positively devastating as Muriel Belcher, the founder and proprietress of the Colony Room. MUST SEE
