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.
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