By April MacIntyre Sep 19, 2009, 15:11 GMT
"It isn't art until somebody rich comes along and buys it!" - Jeremy Irons as Alfred Stieglitz, "Georgia O'Keeffe."
American artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s personal life and career are brought to life by actress Joan Allen in tonight's Lifetime film, "Georgia O'Keeffe," a no miss event that turns in interesting and compelling performances above and below the line.
O'Keeffe's poverty and humble beginnings are touched on as Allen opens up to her lifetime love and nemesis, Bohemian and worldly lover then husband, Alfred Stieglitz, a calculating dealer who elevated her name and broke her heart repeatedly. Jeremy Irons is perfect as the fiercely intense lover of art who seduced O'Keeffe while he was married, then promoted her work as his repeated infidelities drove her away to Taos, over and again.
O'Keeffe was a Texan who became an art teacher in South Carolina, who first turned out abstract drawings; these drawings landed in the hands of photographer Alfred Stieglitz in New York. Their subsequent meeting set off a lifetime path of love and work entwined.
In his life, Stieglitz was a child of great intelligence and fortunate privilege; his immigrant family returned him to Germany for further education to complement his private and public New York studies.
The film, "Georgia O'Keeffe" (9 p.m., Saturday, Lifetime, TV-14), is rich in great performances, and excellence in the crafts that you will be left with new found respect for a network often castigated as a woman's weep fest of overwrought programming. This film elevates them to the big leagues of the premium cablers.
Is this a perfect film, a true-to-life biopic? No. But it delivers a well-acted insightful look at the personal life of two great artists of different mediums. It could have included more salacious and heartbreaking truths of Stieglitz's personal life and dalliances, but stays focused on his muse and lifetime love O'Keeffe, who eventually fades into the West. For what it is, the cast and crew have delivered an enjoyable film.
Joan Allen is resplendent as the American visionary who emerged in what was dubbed the golden age of female ascendancy as the best-known woman painter of the 20th century. O'Keeffe's inspiration from nature and specifically her rendering of the feminine genital form in her art scandalized some in the day.
"O'Keeffe" follows their volatile and torturous relationship over half a century of living together and apart, a celebration and damnation of open marriage, and art above all personal concerns.
Bob Balaban directs "Georgia O'Keeffe," and Michael Cristofer penned the script. Of note are the performances of Jenny Gabrielle as the besotted Dorothy Norman, Tyne Daly as hedonisitic and loquacious patroness Mabel Dodge, as well as the masterful lensing by DP Paul Elliot, who ate up the New Mexico scenery. Also top form was the amazing costuming by Heather Chaffee, and Enid Arias and Dorothy Pearl's pitch-perfect work, department heads for Hair and Makeup, respectively.
"Georgia O'Keeffe" airs tonight, Saturday September 19th on Lifetime. It re-airs Sunday. September 20 and Tuesday, September 22.
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