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The Burnt Orange Heresy


On a fairly wet and windy night, we got along to the Windsor Twin Cinema in Nedlands for a preview screening of The Burnt Orange Heresy. Big thanks to the Luna Palace Cinemas once more. This is an Italian/English co-production, directed by Giuseppi Capotondi and adapted by Scott B. Smith from the Charles Willeford novel. I'll admit to not knowing any of these geezers but Capotondi has directed a few episodes of Suburra (TV) and Willeford wrote the book that the under-rated Miami Blues was based on. So a reasonably eclectic bunch of folk were involved in this, and we haven't even looked at the cast yet.

The story starts with art historian/critic, James Figueras giving a too-clever-by-half presentation to a group of tourists in Milan. Here he meets Berenice Hollis, a mysterious woman who just wandered in 'for the free potato chips'. Claes Bang and Elizabeth Debicki play the two leads, and the film, fairly briskly, gets them into bed and then on to Lake Como. Debicki really shows some acting chops, even though some of the dialogue is a bit ripe - there's a lot of 'oooh maybe I'm telling the truth, maybe I'm not' stuff going on, and it's pretty mug-handed in its foreshadowing. The themes of truth (in art and life) and freedom of choice are developed better as the film progresses, due in part to the introduction of Messrs Jagger and Sutherland. Mick plays art dealer/collector, Joseph Cassidy and it's fun to see him on screen. Donald plays reclusive, much sought after, legendary painter, Jerome Debney, who lives and paints on Cassidy's estate (the picturesque Villa Pizzo).

The film picks up the pace from here, with Cassidy asking/threatening Figueras to 'procure' him a Debney, as the famous artist has agreed to an interview with him, but is extremely reluctant to show his work, let alone sell a piece. Debney, meanwhile, takes a shine to Hollis and a sweetly paternal relationship builds. There are a few nice touches in the writing. The orange of the title sides with one half of the moral divide, the blue that Debney is fruitlessly searching for, the other. Incidentally, these colours often appear on film posters, as they juxtapose two of the opposing points of a colour wheel (see TV Tropes and The Wrap for more detail). Flies take a more prominent position than you'd ever likely see outside an Aussie outback drama. And critics take a mauling here - Debney enjoys messing with them by offering obscure titles to his work and letting "the critics, those ravenous dogs, wear themselves out chewing on it, searching for meaning where there is none."

Some of the characters' choices come across as a bit illogical and there is one pretty rank scene involving a tone deaf apology. Aside from these issues, The Burnt Orange Heresy is a pretty diverting film with a Coenesque ending that leaves the viewer pondering potential outcomes. It did for me, at least.

The Burnt Orange Heresy opens at the Luna, the Windsor and the Luna on SX on July 23rd.

See also:

 On the art theme, Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner (2014) is great, and I usually don't recommend TV but Debicki shines in David Farr and Susanne Bier's The Night Manager (2016).

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