Copying Beethoven
The Sunday Age
Sunday October 14, 2007
3.5/5
Copying Beethoven(PG, 104mins) HopscotchDesperate to complete his ninth symphony, Ludwig van Beethoven hires a copyist, who turns out to be as driven as he is. In contrast to Mozart's enfant terrible, Beethoven is "the Beast": grumpy, deaf, fond of a drink and the local barmaid. Fortunately, director Agnieszka Holland never forgets that we're also dealing with a musical genius and spends enough time trying to get to the heart of both the man and the tragic irony that afflicted him. Ed Harris is superb in a warts-and-all portrayal, as is Diane Kruger as a woman carving out a career in a man's world, with the sexual tension between them hypnotically expressed during the symphony's premiere where she keeps the beat for the deaf conductor. No extras.
© 2007 The Sunday Age