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DE-LOVELY Send This Review to a Friend
It is fitting that MGM is the distributor of “De-Lovely,” an elegant musical biography of songwriter Cole Porter, as MGM was the studio that produced so many great musicals of the past. But in that era we couldn’t have had one like this, a film that candidly deals with Porter’s homosexuality. Yet this is also a tender and moving heterosexual love story stressing the enduring bond between Porter and his wife, rich socialite Linda Thomas, under an arrangement that allowed for Porter’s wandering with men, a pact more easily agreed to than tolerated. That aspect of his life was not covered in the 1946 Warner Brothers film “Night and Day,” starring Cary Grant.
Apart from the dramatics, “De-Lovely” luxuriates in Porter’s songs, abundantly worked into the sumptuous looking entertainment that breaks from traditional musical form.The film “Chicago” comes to mind, but the mood here is much more low key and romantic in keeping with the different type subject. The numbers turn up in natural circumstances, flitting from informal social sessions to stage sequences. Some of the contemporary performers have been chosen with an eye to appealing to young audiences even while providing traditional interpretations.
The major news is that Kevin Kline gives a magnificent, deeply probing performance as Porter, whether in old age when in 1964 he is in limbo reflecting on his life with Jonathan Pryce as Gabe (read angel Gabriel), who is ready to usher him into the great beyond after events in his life have been paraded before him, or as the younger Porter finding his way in his personal and professional life. This is certainly among the best performances in Kline’s extensive career.
The other major plus is the charismatic performance by Ashley Judd as Porter’s wife Linda. She is radiant, wholly believable and brings great beauty to the screen plus a commanding presence, something she lacked on stage in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” What she does on screen in “De-Lovely” should raise the level of her star power.
The structural format in Jay Cocks’ screenplay is unusual in the way it is mechanically framed around Porter’s life as presented by Gabe, which is different than a more ordinary flashback method might be. There could be a few less interruptions as the two comment on various events, but the approach is much better than it would be if Porter, say, were refreshing his memory by looking at a scrapbook. With the performances by Kline and Judd, the story becomes involving, especially when a tragic accident strikes Porter and changes the course of his life.
The songs themselves reveal Porter’s brilliance: “Night and Day,” “It’s “De-Lovely,” “In the Still of the Night,” “What is this Thing Called Love?,” “Anything Goes,” “Begin the Beguine,” “They All Fall in Love,” “Love for Sale,” “Just One of Those Things,” to name a few. The cast rising to the task of singing selections from the Porter repertoire includes Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Robbie Williams, Natalie Cole and Mario Frangoulis.
Director Irwin Winkler succeeds in blending the music with the engrossing drama. He might have cast Irving Berlin and Louis B. Mayer of MGM with actors who looked a bit more like them. But that’s a minor point. As for the look of the film itself, you should love the period costumes by Janty Yates. An MGM release.
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