Amadeus (1984)

Director: Milos Forman
Starring F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge.

Amadeus clocks in at two hours forty minutes long approximately. It felt like less than an hour. A wonderful film of Shakespearean proportions, mixed with dashes of intrigue, mystery and operatic turns were not what I was expecting. I was expecting a relatively entertaining, if rather lifeless biopic of the composer. Amadeus delivers on such a greater level than that.

Milos Forman, director of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, manages to find the careful balance that so many recent biopics have failed by - he treats his subject matter with respect and dignity, but still finds enough material to create a thoroughly entertaining, meaningful film. The first aspect you may notice, within the first half hour or so, is despite the film's title character, Amadeus Mozart (Hulce), it seems to focus on a fellow composer, Salieri (Abraham). Thus is where the real innovation of Amadeus lies, telling the story of Mozart through the eyes of a composer who idolised and envied him bitterly.

Salieri, the court composer of Vienna, is competent at his work - music he has worked all his life to perfect. However, he finds himself being upstaged by a brash, infantile Mozart, a young composer who recently arrived in Vienna, who is already twice the composer Salieri is, and years younger. The film's base is on Salieri. The title is a lie. Salieri becomes jealous of Mozart's abilities, while at the same time, being his greatest admirer, and one of the few who can truly understand and appreciate his work.

Salieri is played magnificently by F. Murray Abraham. Tom Hulce might have the more noticeable role as the foppish Mozart, and make no mistake, Hulce is very impressive. But Abraham quietly steals the show with an understated, remarkably restrained performance. It would have been easy to allow himself to slip into extravagance to match Hulce, and he never does. It is so easy to believe Salieri's bitterness and deep rooted rage. The twist of Amadeus is that Salieri, who would normally be considered as the 'villain' of the piece, is a far more sympathetic and human character than Mozart himself. From his perspective, it is easy for the audience to understand - I doubt anyone has never been jealous of another's superior talent or possessions. Mozart's apparent invincibility as a composer only make Salieri all the more human, and somehow, likeable. His despicable deeds to undermine Mozart gain sympathy because of Abraham's quiet desperation.

The setting of the film itself is operatic - Prague, standing in for Vienna, is beautifully captured by the marvellous attention to detail - the costume design and makeup is lavish and sumptuous for the age. The supporting cast is solid, but never overwhelms the duel/duet (however you see it) of Abraham and Hulce.

The film is a tragedy - Salieri begins to respect and admire Mozart but far too late to prevent the consequences of his actions. The final hour is laden with irony that only Salieri seems to appreciate - he is the controlling factor of the entire film, and we learn far more about him than we do about Mozart. He is slowly driven insane with the thought of his own mediocrity and mortality, morally ambiguous, and disturbingly human. I think very few audience members would be completely disgusted with Salieri's actions by the end - indeed, it might ring all too true for some.

A wonderful, remarkable period piece without the dryness of usual biopics.

Rating: 9/10.