The expression "a gifted, disturbed genius" is used in "The Art of Murder" to describe the mercurial Daniel Sutter, a carpenter and a handyman, who has inherited a collection of art works from his grandfather. The centerpiece of the collection is what appears to be a newly discovered painting of Johannes Vermeer. But is the work authentic?
At the heart of the drama is the curator Kate Miller, who works at the modest Robert Krell art gallery that is struggling to break even. Robert's father Frank had started the operation before his death, and his widow Heley Krell exerts her formidable presence on the operation and her son Robert.
When the sharp-eyed Kate first sees the alleged Vermeer painting, she is stunned with its apparent authenticity. But her research suggests that Daniel's story about his grandfather's acquisition of the work in postwar Belgium does not add up. The World War II soldier Nathaniel Hawthorne Sutter was evidently never present in Belgium in the aftermath of the war. As Kate becomes enmeshed with Daniel romantically, his erratic conduct raises even greater suspicions.
The filmmakers were successful in generating dramatic tension in the story of the painting and in the odd assortment of characters, including the jovial art "authenticator," Ben Upchurch. It will be up to the quick-thinking Kate to ultimately determine the provenance of the painting and the truth about "a gifted, disturbed genius."
At the heart of the drama is the curator Kate Miller, who works at the modest Robert Krell art gallery that is struggling to break even. Robert's father Frank had started the operation before his death, and his widow Heley Krell exerts her formidable presence on the operation and her son Robert.
When the sharp-eyed Kate first sees the alleged Vermeer painting, she is stunned with its apparent authenticity. But her research suggests that Daniel's story about his grandfather's acquisition of the work in postwar Belgium does not add up. The World War II soldier Nathaniel Hawthorne Sutter was evidently never present in Belgium in the aftermath of the war. As Kate becomes enmeshed with Daniel romantically, his erratic conduct raises even greater suspicions.
The filmmakers were successful in generating dramatic tension in the story of the painting and in the odd assortment of characters, including the jovial art "authenticator," Ben Upchurch. It will be up to the quick-thinking Kate to ultimately determine the provenance of the painting and the truth about "a gifted, disturbed genius."