Review – Valentino

I was curious about this Ken Russell biography of famous silent movie actor Rudolph Valentino because I’d heard it was visually stunning but otherwise dreadful. Unfortunately, the rumors were only half correct. The cinematography is pretty, but it isn’t exactly breathtaking. The imagery isn’t even on par with having Ann-Margaret roll around in beans and syrup. And of course the part about the rest of the picture being dreadful was absolutely correct. Lead “actor” Rudolf Nureyev was clearly hired for his considerable – yet featured only briefly – dancing skills, because he couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. And the rest of the cast turns in performances on par with the star. Even the script is strictly talentless-high-school-drama-student-high-on-bad-acid. See if desperate