The Great Peter O'Toole

Last night I went to the Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove to attend the After Hours Film Society showing of "Venus" with the great Peter O'Toole. I enjoyed it tremendously and of course, Mr. O'Toole was superb. If more people saw it, I think he may have won the Oscar for Best Actor last year. The story of an aging matinee idol on the brink of death who becomes infaturated with the young grand niece of his actor friend is beautifully realized by Mr. O'Toole, who can project any emotion with a slight tilt of his head or the crinkling of his eyes. When the film began the dialogue and situations were so sharp and well observed, I thought it may have been an adaptation of a play, but no, it's an original screenplay. Some of the lines were laugh out loud funny in the best tradition of British understatement.


Mr. O'Toole has given so many memorable performances that seeing him here reminded me of all those films. I hope he's with us for years to come but if this should be his swan song, I can think of no better vehicle to leave us with.