Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998)
Date: Saturday 31st August
Time: 5.00 pm
Location: The Duchy Barn
Event Duration: 110 min inc interval
Certificate 18
Price: £4.00
Derek Jacobi gives a signature performance as the painter Francis Bacon in John Maybury’s film following the artist’s trials through a seven year relationship with his muse, a small time East End gangster, George Dyer, (Daniel Craig).
We are shown a vivid portrait of ‘60s Boho London, where, with little in common: Bacon’s arty, boozy Soho set and Dyer’s, East End criminal fraternity, the two men awkwardly develop a raw, painful, even cruel love affair, which is brought vividly to life by images often (but never excessively) reminiscent of Bacon's paintings. Maybury’s experimental filmic style captures the tortured mood of both artist and model, reflecting, with the use of distorted camera angles, mirrors and tangled framings, the discomfort not only of Bacon's work but the fragmentation of their lives.
“Love is the Devil may be low on budget, but its rich in invention and imagination… an uncompromising piece of British Film-making”.Total Film 18.ix.98
Directed by John Maybury