In case you’re wondering whether Dutch actor Claes Bang makes a good antihero, you should know that he went from The Burnt Orange Heresy to playing the title role in a new BBC miniseries based on Dracula. Like the Count, the seductive art critic James is provocative and dangerous, keeping his dark side largely hidden. The much younger Berenice (Elizabeth Debicki, The Great Gatsby) seems to find him irresistible.
Heresy is a drama featuring four strong characters with conflicting agendas. Set largely in northern Italy, the film pits James, a shameless manipulator, against Cassidy (Mick Jagger), an unscrupulous and enormously wealthy art collector. Both men want something out of reclusive American artist Jerome Debney (Donald Sutherland), whose works have not been seen publicly in 50 years and who happens to be living in a cottage on Cassidy’s Lake Como estate.
It sounds rather esoteric, but it’s quite engaging trying to figure out who’s lying about what and to whom. Think The Talented Mr. Ripley crossed with one of the darker Coen Brothers movies, and you’ve got the idea. The dialogue (by A Simple Plan screenwriter Scott B. Smith, adapting Charles Willeford’s novel) is crisp and literate, with many confessional monologues (some of them bogus), and the visual style is best described as “Sundance noir.” Italian director Giuseppe Capotondi shows confidence in both complicated conversations and more sinister doings.
Sutherland turns on the charm without overplaying his character’s eccentricities. Jagger plays his part well enough, even if he’s most interesting to watch because he’s Jagger. Bang is sexy and self-assured. The weak link in this four-loop chain is Berenice — not because of Debicki, who does great work with a difficult part. No, this drama created by two male writers and one male director who have no real idea of how to make its lead female character credible. Her actions are driven more by plot needs than by convincing character and became especially suspect in the otherwise riveting finale. Debicki deserves better.
Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes and other streaming platforms.
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