An Actor Prepares, written and directed by Steve Clark - Seven out of 10

An Actor Prepares, written and directed by Steve Clark

Seven out of 10

An Actor Prepares, but the question is if it is worth preparing for a motion picture like this, especially in the case of someone who used to be as close to a “sacred monster” or a God of cinema as the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Reversal of Fortune, Jeremy Irons

Alas, the days of that splendid film or Brideshead Revisited, M. Butterfly, The Mission, Betrayal, Moonlighting and others like them are long gone and the most recent comedy is just well intended, but not too successful.

Although the script is not fantastic – far from it – Jeremy Irons is likeable, seems at times to move without effort through the story, perhaps aware that this is not going to be more than just light entertainment and thinking of the old mantra that one never knows what will have success and what would not be a hit with the audiences.

Take the latest box office record, Crazy rich Asians, lauded for the use of Asian actors in all the leading and supporting roles – white people only walk in the background or are hired as dancers for parties as extras – it still has issues though, for the “brown skinned’ type of Asian is only figuring in that feature as a servant, driver and it does not go down well in many parts of the continent.

Jeremy Irons portrays Atticus, an award-winning star, perhaps sharing many common features with British actor born on the Isle of Wight and owner of small castle.

Atticus drinks too much, uses drugs, philanders, but because of these bad habits- some of them anyway – he suffers a heart attack, following which the doctor maintains that he cannot fly, drink, take drugs anymore and must generally avoid effort, excess of any kind.

His estranged son, Adam aka the very good Jack Huston – with very good performances in Boardwalk Empire and American Hustle – arrives at the hospital, where he sleeps with a teddy bear in his lap, on a couch.

Father Atticus is not happy to see him, calls him names actually, because the son had testified at the divorce trail against him and the superficial, self-absorbed actor has the feeling that his son was responsible for the crisis!

It was Adam after all who told his mother about his father cheating on her, information that he had at first hand, being the one who caught the unfaithful parent, who does not take the blame, in a manner that makes him rather contemptible

The hero is also amusing, for it does seem as if at times he understands that he is rather irresponsible, childlike, but that may make the film somewhat more complex, interesting, in that the protagonist is both very sick, weak, maybe dying soon, but also selfish, narcissistic, Trump-like, given to excess even after he knows what the damage can be.

As a tremendous actor, he receives the Life Time Achievement Award, but he laments in the manner of a few who have accepted the glory in real life, underlining that he is still in top form, some in the audience are twice as old and have not received the ward yet.

Given that his condition does not allow for him to fly, his daughter’s wedding is in a few days, the hero takes a special bus – to some extent in the manner of Jack Nicholson aka Schmidt in About Schmidt – to attend the ceremony.

Along the way, he drinks, asks the driver who is also a stunt man to get him drugs, for he would pay handsomely, only to be rejected by the man who says that the studios pay top dollars and there are enormous benefits for his stunts and then the hero…takes the bus, drives it while drinking.

At the start of the road trip, father and son are antagonists, sharing a dislike for each other, but this mutual scorn is gradually fading away, to be replaced by a growing bond, established through a series of escapes that are mean to be funny, although they rarely succeed.

There are some good moments when the actor is studying for his would be future, actually next role, as God and he reads from the Bible, even asks around for suggestions, once at the table where the head of the family is serious on the subject of religion, while the protagonist appears to be very near blasphemy when he makes his own attempt at a bizarre, outré prayer.

After they get drunk, father and son misbehave on a stadium, while a baseball game is in progress, where Atticus is recognized, invited as a celebrity to talk on the radio show associated with the game and he insults his would be son-in-law, without being aware of it apparently.

The family of the groom is aggravated, in his defense, the reckless drunkard explains that he had not met the man, he had not meant to offend him, but finds that he is no longer supposed to attend the wedding, given that he was so rude and foul mouthed on a public broadcast no less.

There is talk of losing the upcoming role to Donald Sutherland and Atticus loses the chance, stating that he did not like the script – which raises the question if Jeremy Irons liked this one- and he would have rather played the Devil instead.

This motion picture is not very imaginative and to rest the case, one may look at the poster and observe the lack of creativity on display there, where it says:

“It’s father and son time, whether they like it or not…profanity will not be tolerated”