Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998) Reviews

This movie was well put together-kind of strange for no reason in parts but excellent acting and an accurate portrayal of Bacon's life and how he lived it- Daniel craig did a great job acting-would definitely recommend this movie if you like different movies and don't mind seeing nude men with quirky somewhat sick sex lives.
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If your slant in movies is toward art house fare then this should fit. The way its shot using great angles and various lenses keeps it interesting. and definitely adds rather than detract. Even though it only covered a very short period in Bacon's life it was a rather intriguing one. Certainly not an uplifting film as it shows how people tend to use each other for various reasons. I found Daniel Craigs character, George, just as interesting as the Bacon character.
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The story involves the relationship period Frances Bacon (Jacobi) spent with his tragically unbalanced partner, George Dyer (a pensive portrayal by Daniel Craig). The film includes several well-acted social vignettes (such as bar conversation scenes) that serve as its narrative of sorts. Interspersed in the movie are montages showing a variety of provocative images derived of the couple's rough sexual acts and various fantasy sequences as well as images of violence - all of which apparently influence Bacon's artworks. In the bar scenes Tilda Swinton (one of the bar regulars, Muriel) is nearly unrecognizable with her prosthetic Quasimoto teeth. Overall the movie is a stark portrait of extremes in the human condition when minds are influenced by drugs, alcohol, money, and mutually accepted moratorium on boundaries. This, I suppose, is intended to give insight into the artist.
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