I've been very fortunate with my Netflix films lately. This one, "The Best Offer" from 2013 is a fantastic film with a brilliant performance by Geoffrey Rush.
Rush plays Virgil Oldman, a well known art expert. He and his friend Billy (Donald Sutherland), a failed artist, have an auction scam going which has helped Virgil acquire a huge art collection of female portraits. When he auctions off paintings he wants, he describes the painting in a way that undervalues it, so that Billy bids and gets it for less than it's worth. Virgil keeps the paintings in a secret room, where he will sit and enjoy them.
Virgil receives a call from a reclusive heiress, Claire Ibbetson, who wants the objects in her family home valued and some of them auctioned. She speaks to Virgil, but he never sees her. He then learns that even people who have worked in the house have never seen her. He becomes obsessed with her, an obviously young, fragile, agoraphobic woman.
He confides in Robert (Jim Sturgess), a technician who is helping him put together pieces of an automaton he finds in the Ibbetson home; he suspects it might be old and valuable. Virgil admits to having no experience with women at all, and Robert gives him advice.
One day, at Robert's suggestion, Virgil pretends to leave, but stays behind to get a glimpse of Claire as she emerges from her room. He is surprised to see that she is not only young, but quite beautiful. His obsession is complete.
An intriguing, suspenseful, and sometimes tense film, The Best Offer is fascinating. As the elderly expert, Rush is elegant, erudite, and on the snobby side. Gradually, as he becomes interested in Claire, he softens. Sylvia Hoeks, a Dutch actress, does not look 27 as she is supposed to be (that was the actress' age as well) - but much younger. Her performance is only partially successful, partly because she does not usually act in English.
Donald Sutherland is making a new career out of these more eccentric roles, and he pulls them off.
Highly recommended for the script, acting, production values, and scenery. A gem.
Rush plays Virgil Oldman, a well known art expert. He and his friend Billy (Donald Sutherland), a failed artist, have an auction scam going which has helped Virgil acquire a huge art collection of female portraits. When he auctions off paintings he wants, he describes the painting in a way that undervalues it, so that Billy bids and gets it for less than it's worth. Virgil keeps the paintings in a secret room, where he will sit and enjoy them.
Virgil receives a call from a reclusive heiress, Claire Ibbetson, who wants the objects in her family home valued and some of them auctioned. She speaks to Virgil, but he never sees her. He then learns that even people who have worked in the house have never seen her. He becomes obsessed with her, an obviously young, fragile, agoraphobic woman.
He confides in Robert (Jim Sturgess), a technician who is helping him put together pieces of an automaton he finds in the Ibbetson home; he suspects it might be old and valuable. Virgil admits to having no experience with women at all, and Robert gives him advice.
One day, at Robert's suggestion, Virgil pretends to leave, but stays behind to get a glimpse of Claire as she emerges from her room. He is surprised to see that she is not only young, but quite beautiful. His obsession is complete.
An intriguing, suspenseful, and sometimes tense film, The Best Offer is fascinating. As the elderly expert, Rush is elegant, erudite, and on the snobby side. Gradually, as he becomes interested in Claire, he softens. Sylvia Hoeks, a Dutch actress, does not look 27 as she is supposed to be (that was the actress' age as well) - but much younger. Her performance is only partially successful, partly because she does not usually act in English.
Donald Sutherland is making a new career out of these more eccentric roles, and he pulls them off.
Highly recommended for the script, acting, production values, and scenery. A gem.