The Devil's Violinist

2013
6| 2h2m| R| en| More Info
Released: 30 January 2013 Released
Producted By: ARTE
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Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

The life story of Italian violinist and composer, Niccolò Paganini, who rose to fame as a virtuoso in the early 19th Century.

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Reviews

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
rooee Niccolò Paganini (David Garrett) is a virtuoso violinist, stolen from Italian obscurity by the serpentine Urbani (Jared Harris) and brought to swinging 19th century London on the request of struggling promoter John Watson (Christian McKay). There his lascivious urges and his musical genius find equal outlet, until his heart is attuned to Charlotte (Andrea Deck), with whom he shares a harmonious partnership. Tragedy encroaches, however, as those who brought Paganini to the top conspire to cast him into the gutter once more.What is the truth of Paganini? Bernard Rose's biopic plays fast and loose, which shouldn't matter because art strives for universal truths. Yet such striving often leads to cliché, as has happened here. As an instrument the violin lends itself well to furious solos, so the transition from classical musician to rock god is easy – throw in some long shaggy hair and stubble and sunglasses and we've basically got ourselves a Georgian Ozzy Osbourne. Not that the film is terribly anarchic. Early on we get some Dogma 95-influenced hand-held camera and hack 'n' slash editing but it soon gives way to familiar period stageyness.Rose's film exists in the same realm as Milos Forman's Amadeus and touches on some of the same themes – genius emerging from chaos, both a creative and destructive force – but it's a relatively shallow movie, and one whose TV budget cannot be elevated by its impressively crashing classical soundtrack and its smoggy capital exteriors. Forman's film had a force-of-nature at its centre in the form of Tom Hulce. The Devil's Violinist has David Garrett, who's a wonderful violinist but no actor. Alarm bells ring when a character is meant to be thinking hard about something and actually grabs their chin.But then, could any actor have provided a sympathetic portrayal? How charming is any man this juvenile; this unprofessional? Why should we care for a man who whinges about being "misunderstood" in one breath then dismisses his fans with the next? How do we side with someone who claims to love another and then accidentally shags a complete stranger with the same hair colour? Better writing and an actual actor might have helped us answer these questions.Garrett isn't very well-supported, to be fair. Harris turns a scheming snake into a pantomime villain. Joely Richardson is gobsmackingly miscast as a cockney troublemaker. And while Alien Isolation fans may be pleased to see Andrea Deck in her full feature debut, I wouldn't expect the scripts to start piling on her doormat on the basis of this. But then, again, Charlotte is bafflingly written: she's genuinely repulsed by Paganini – a player and a player – only to spin on a sixpence once she hears him knock out a few notes, melody apparently trumping manners.Rose has a firm hold of his film's darkly humorous tone, and the musical performances are, inevitably, spectacular (almost worth the rental fee alone, if for some reason an actual David Garrett Live DVD isn't available). But the decision to build a movie around a real musician backfires horribly, and with a bland and over-familiar script ("Who is the real you?" one character genuinely asks) it has to go down as a handsome, tuneful failure.
nash@iit.edu They took the work of a genius and turned it into a mediocre movie. Bad acting particularly by the Paganini character with his cringe making, bland American accent. The writing and direction were just plain awful, I have seen better 30 second advertisements. If you enjoy the music of Paganini this movie is something to avoid. Some musical moments, mostly singing appeared as rays of sunshine through an overclouded sky. The characters were entirely one dimensional and quite unbelievable with poor acting and dreadful dialogue. No surprise then that the director was also the writer, and I will avoid any work of his I come across. Needless to say, any similarity between Paganini's life and this movie is purely coincidental. Even as just entertainment this is a boring, clichéd movie-don't waste your time watching.
kim_lorton This movie was awful! The only saving Grace was David Garrett, the violinist. He was by far, the best I have ever heard! Jared Harris, was given a sub standard role, and did his best, but the character sucked big time. It meandered around, and went no where really. I kept fast forwarding it to the music parts! And...and... The best opera voice ever, via Andrea Deck. She is amazing! She plays Charlotte. Unless you want to just skip through most to hear David play, or Andrea sing, please don't bother. You don't get much scenery other than sets, and though the clothing was great, you don't see much variety. It hinted at some seed scenes as Paganini was a great womanizer, but ... No real sexy scenes! Joely Richardsons character was incidental and from what I saw, no real reason to be in the movie. She is a great actress, and she did her best, but why this character? Some news paper woman of the times? No good.
Stefani Barwick *Possible Spoiler Alert!!*I happened by this film on accident while going through lists of movies. I'd heard Niccolo Paganini's compositions in the past and figured I'd give the film a try. MAGNIFICENT! The actors in this portrayed their parts with such passion and delicacy. The music is heavenly.. Takes your soul on a journey. If you're a fan of classical music, dramatic movies, and immense feels, then this is definitely a film you should watch. I do believe I'll watch it again soon. The tricky Devil was a character who will play with your mind over and over. Betrayal and heartbreak was woven into this film as well, as you see with many dramas. Absolutely perfect. Must find it on DVD.