Little Ashes
Cast: Javier Beltran, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell
Dir: Paul Morrison
Rating: 2/5
It's fair to say that Robert Pattinson is the biggest thing in movies at the moment after his breakthrough turn in Twilight at the end of last year. But Little Ashes is a role he took before he shot to stardom.
In 1922, Madrid is wavering on the edge of change as traditional values are challenged by the dangerous new influences of Jazz, Freud and the avant-garde. Salvador Dali arrives at the university, 18 years old and determined to become a great artist.
His bizarre blend of shyness and rampant exhibitionism attracts the attention of two of the university's social elite - Federico Garcia Lorca and Luis Buñuel. Salvador is absorbed into their decadent group and for a time Salvador, Luis and Federico become a formidable trio, the most ultra-modern group in Madrid.
However as time passes, Salvador feels an increasingly strong pull towards the charismatic Federico - who is himself oblivious of the attentions he is getting from his beautiful writer friend, Margarita.
Finally, in the face of his friends' preoccupations - and Federico's growing renown as a poet - Luis sets off for Paris in search of his own artistic success.
Federico and Salvador spend the holiday in the sea-side town of Cadaques. Both the idyllic surroundings and the warmth of the Dali family sweep Federico off his feet
Pattinson's new found fame will definitely encourage more people to see this movie than possibly would have done but unfortunately that will not be enough to save it.
While, in parts, Little Ashes is quite compelling, such as Dali's rise to fame and his eccentricity of later years and Lorca's fight for Spain's freedom, there isn't enough here to hold your attention for the full one hour fifty two minutes, which is a major shame.
Filming in Spain the movie really is, from a cinematography point of view, very beautiful but the film's major sticking point is the script.
The tension of the forbidden feelings between Lorca and Dali is not used to it's full potential and the character of Lorca should be more of a force in the film.
And while this isn't entirely a movie about Salvador Dali his experiences in Pairs would have been a great thing to include but sadly it's skipped over, which is a major shame.
While Little Ashes does focus on the relationships between the three central characters the time in which the movie is set was a major time of political unrest for Spain as Spaniard's fought for their freedom and, on the whole this is brushed under the carpet.
It's not until closer to the end of the movie that this issue is addressed in more depth. Morrison really has missed out on making quite a powerful political movie about Spain during this time by telling it through the eyes of some of Spain's biggest historical characters.
While the cast do a fine job of these characters you can't help but wonder what a more experienced actor would have done with the bizarre nature of Salvador Dali, however Pattinson in particular is very good and it's good to see him mixing up his roles.
Little Ashes is not as intriguing as it possible could be only scratching the surface of the characters rather than digging deep into what drove and inspired them. However it's competently acted and looks beautiful, but the real let down is the script which drags it's feet in places making it an exasperating watch.
Little Ashes is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Robert Pattinson