The Devil’s Violinist starring David Garrett has finally been released in the United States, and has been generally panned by most major reviewers. The movie, which had only opened in Europe, was picked up by Freestyle Digital Media, Freestyle Releasing and Stryker Entertainment for its U.S. debut.
The film centers around Niccolò Paganini, the famous Italian violin virtuoso, who was rumored to have made a deal with the devil to gain his fabulous ability. German violinist Garrett makes his film debut alongside Jared Harris, Joely Richardson and Christian McKay.
However, it seems as if Garrett, who has no trouble with the violin, may need some work in the acting department.
“Providing a performance that’s so wooden and unconvincing that his director habitually cuts away from his face during dialogue — the better to mask the awkwardness of his line deliveries — Garrett proves a washout in this formulaic period piece, whose minimal commercial prospects are unlikely to extend beyond the star’s most rabid fans,” says a review from Variety.
Film director Bernard Rose first claim to fame is his 1994 film Immortal Beloved, which portrayed Gary Oldman as Ludwig Von Beethoven. Though the film opened to mixed reviews, it was seemed to fare than Rose’s second period piece.
“While its themes border on the sensationalistic, the film lacks the sizzle, humor and wild imagination that Ken Russell brought to his similar classical music-themed cinematic excursions. Ponderously paced and mostly flat in its dramatic effect, this wooden period piece is slow going indeed. And while the handsome sets and costumes generally do justice to the setting, the obviously low-budget results in some visual cheesiness, most notably in a scene set on a dock in which the background is groaningly fake looking,” says The Hollywood Reporter.
So, are critics being to harsh or is the film a wash? What did you think of The Devil’s Violinist?
