Daliland (4 Stars)

I'm always excited to see a new film by Mary Harron, especially on the big screen. "Daliland" is untypical for her, because it's less feminocentric than her previous films.

The main character is James Linton, an assistant at a New York gallery that's planned an exhibition of Salvador Dali's works. To be precise, the gallery wants to present his new works and offer them for sale. The gallery has given Dali large financial advances, but he still hasn't painted enough new artworks for the exhibition. Dali is living an extravagant lifestyle in a luxurious hotel, having frequent parties. He's living like a rock star, but he's forgotten that he needs to make money.

James is sent to help Dali and assist him in his work, but he's drawn into the lavish lifestyle. Dali's wife Gala is a businesswoman who encourages her husband to work, but she also spends a lot of money on her young lover, a man she calls Jesus. He's Jeff Fenholt, who's playing the lead role in "Jesus Christ Superstar" on Broadway. I'd never heard of him, but I suspect that he's portrayed unfairly. He claims he'll become a big rock star, but his singing (in the film) is embarrassingly bad. He tells Alice Cooper, a close friend of Dali's, that his music is dull and he'll soon be forgotten, but everyone will remember the name Jeff Fenholt. Jeff who?

Dali may be a talented artist, but he's spending more than he earns. James discovers that people who work for Dali are earning money off him without his knowledge.

The film is well made, but Salvador Dali and his wife Gala are both unpleasant people. Maybe Gala is slightly more pleasant. It's terrible to see how wealth and success can corrupt so badly.